As I Am, I Take Thee
by Kurrent
Summary: Story 3 in my Lileyverse series. The big wedding is here! Well, both of them, actually. This story takes place eleven months after my previous story, All I Want.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **HA! Fooled you! I bet you thought I was going to take a break before the next story, right? Well, sadly for me, I do appear to be hooked on writing stories about our great Liley couple. Therefore, no break for me. And it's really not that sad—I do enjoy telling my stories! This story is the third in my Lileyverse series, and it begins in late November 2008, not quite eleven months after our last story ended. Our heroines have just celebrated their seventeenth birthdays a few days before the story begins, and Thanksgiving is just three days away.

Here are my standard disclaimers: I make no claims on any of Disney's, Miley Cyrus', Emily Osment's or Hannah Montana's trademarks or copyrights, and no infringement is intended. Be forewarned that this story most certainly will contain femslash. If love and affection between two consenting young adults of the same sex bothers you, I suggest you turn right around and find something else to read. Keep any flames to yourself and remember that what our world needs now is more love and acceptance, not more hate. Reviews are always welcomed and appreciated!

**As I Am, I Take Thee **

by Jo P.

Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Weddings

_Find the magic_

_Go and grab it_

_Your fate is in your hands (come on)_

_Find a reason_

_To believe in_

_Just tell yourself_

_We can_

_--_Miley Cyrus"Good and Broken"

Monday mornings were always aggravating, but this morning Miley Stewart awoke to a most pleasant sound: her fiancée's Lilly Truscott's sweet voice. With it being a school week, Lilly hadn't spent the night with Miley, but for Miley's birthday last week she had given Miley an alarm clock that allowed Lilly to record her own voice for Miley's wake-up messages. She had found it in a catalog for parents with small children (wisely, Miley hadn't asked why Lilly was perusing such a publication) and felt it would be an excellent way to ensure that her girlfriend woke up with minimal difficulty. Sure enough, Miley found herself waking easily at the first sounds of Lilly's voice, a smile on her face. Even the fact that her lover wasn't right there beside didn't wipe the smile off her face, because this morning Miley could only focus on one fact running through her mind over and over. _This_ was going to be the last week of her single life, because in five days she and Lilly would be married. Twice.

She got out of the bed and stumbled her way into the bathroom. As she stripped off her pajamas and brushed her teeth, she tried not to think too hard about the upcoming weekend, but it was impossible to resist. Miley and Lilly had two weddings to go through, the first being a simple private ceremony that would be their true wedding. Then there was what several magazines were already calling the "Wedding of the Century," despite the fact that the century was only eight years young: the marriage of teen pop sensation Hannah Montana and her girlfriend Lola Luftnagle.

Despite the natural worry, Miley still couldn't help but smile as she thought about finally being married to her true love. The girls had gone through their ups and downs over the last five years, but the last year and half had been as close to bliss as Miley could imagine. Even with little setbacks and disagreements, she and Lilly had held fast to their love for each other and weathered every bump that came their way.

Miley stepped into the warm spray of the shower and quickly washed her hair. She caught herself holding out her hand for Lilly to put shampoo in it, realizing after a second that Lilly wasn't there this morning. _Oh well, that won't be the case much longer._ She hurried and finished her shower and started drying off. Once that was finished, she got dressed, wearing the bright pink shirt Lilly had gotten her for her birthday, paired with the black leather pants Miley had bought herself as a surprise gift to Lilly. Once she had pulled the skin-tight pants up, she buckled the black leather belt with faux studs to complement the rock star look. She then began working on her hair, straightening it with a flatiron today. She wanted to set Lilly's mind reeling when she saw how Miley looked today.

Down the street, Lilly was thinking along the same lines. She had already finished her shower as well, and she had chosen to wear one of her nearly-too-short skirts today, a faded light green denim skirt with a busy green and blue print blouse. She carefully worked several braids into her hair, then added a few streaks of blue and green to her hair to finish out her look. Lilly left her toned legs bare, slipping into her new lime green pumps Miley had given her for her birthday last week.

As Lilly looked at herself in the full-length mirror, she imagined how Miley's jaw would drop when she saw her today. Without any hyperbole, Lilly looked absolutely stunning. She very easily could have stepped onto any movie set or fashion show runway and turned heads with her appearance today. "Oh yeah, your woman is gonna have to pick her jaw up off the floor today, Lilly," she said out loud.

Lilly glanced at the clock and then said, "Arrgh! Where does the time go?" She grabbed her backpack and made her way down the stairs as fast as she could without risking a fall. Miley was probably waiting on her outside in their car already. "Mom!" she yelled as she made her way through the kitchen. "I'm leaving for school!" Not waiting for a reply, she opened the door and nearly smashed into Miley, who had raised her hand to knock on the door.

"Whoa girl!" Miley exclaimed as she dropped her backpack and grabbed Lilly to keep them from colliding. "Whoa..." she said again, this time more softly as she appraised Lilly's look today. Similarly, Lilly was dumbstruck by Miley's outfit, particularly the way the black leather pants accentuated every curve of her hips and butt. Lilly's own backpack slid from her fingers as she forgot where she had been going. Miley noticeably swallowed as she felt sweat start to bead on her forehead; she found herself enthralled by Lilly's strong legs, on display for her to look at openly. "Lilly, you look..."

"Great. I mean, _you_ look great!" Lilly blurted out. "More than great." She tore her eyes away from Miley's hips and looked up into her lover's eyes, glimmering nearly turquoise in the early morning light. "You look amazing," Lilly finally said.

Miley raised her eyebrows at Lilly's rather daring look. "Girlfriend, you look so good that you're makin' me sweat, and the sun ain't even all the way up yet," Miley said as she obviously ogled Lilly's legs. She turned her own gaze higher to focus on Lilly's blue eyes, the match to Miley's. "Going for a special look today?" she asked.

"Yeah. I want to make everyone in the school jealous of you, because I'm yours and yours only."

"Well, that skirt's doin' the trick, let me tell ya," Miley said with a smile.

"And what's your reason for wearing for those pants, Miles?" Lilly asked with a hint of a smile. "Trying to drive me wild? Maybe wanting me to lose control and pull you into a closet with me during school?"

Miley hadn't thought of that, but she filed that good idea away for later. "Something like that," she said. "I want you to see just what you get this weekend."

"You bringing those pants on the honeymoon?" Lilly asked, her mouth watering.

"Maybe."

"Change that maybe to definitely. In fact, I think we should get another pair. Just in case something were to happen to this pair."

Miley grinned at the effect her choice of clothes was having on Lilly. "Deal. As long as you bring that skirt too."

Lilly had a flash of devilishness cross her face as she grinned. "Girlfriend, I'm wearing this skirt on the flight down to Florida. You'll be seeing a lot of it, I think, if you like it that much."

"Oooooh, I like that," Miley said as she finally remembered that they had to be at school soon. "Um, we kinda need to leave for school."

That made Lilly remember that they did indeed need to head off to school. However, now she didn't have to walk toward Miley's to meet her fiancée. In fact, they were ahead of schedule since Miley had gotten here early. Lilly gently guided Miley's head forward and slightly down so their lips met. As they kissed, the heat between the two girls rapidly grew, causing the kiss to intensify dangerously. Miley caught herself starting to lift Lilly's skirt up for better access at about the same time Lilly settled her hands on Miley's butt and gripped tightly. "Lilly, we need to stop or we're going to do something that the neighbors are gonna talk about for a long time," she spit out quickly.

Lilly groaned as she felt Miley stop lifting her skirt. "We can go back inside," she said, still kissing Miley.

"No, hon, your Mom's still at home," Miley said. Lilly still had a firm grip on her rear, and Miley really didn't want her girlfriend to let go. But school was starting, and they needed to finish their project on alternative energies this morning. "Sweetie, I never thought I'd say this, but you need to get your hands off my butt."

Lilly reluctantly removed her warm hands from Miley's delicious butt and frowned. "School's no fun," she mumbled. "But you're right." She bent at the knees and picked up both their backpacks, handing Miley hers as she stood back up. "Here you go, hon."

"Thanks, Lil."

They turned and stepped down onto the sidewalk, hurrying to the driveway where Lilly's black Tesla Roadster was parked. Miley had driven it home last night and now Lilly was driving it to school. Miley opened the driver's door for Lilly, closing it as Lilly carefully sat down to keep her skirt under control. Miley grinned as she closed the door then ran over to her side. "Let's go, girlfriend!" she said as she sat down and closed her door.

Lilly smiled as she backed up onto the street. "Thank you again for my car, Miley," she said tenderly. "It doesn't seem like we've had Stella a year, does it?"

"No," Miley admitted as she held Lilly's hand for a moment. "But we're going to have her much, much longer, Lilly. Just like we're going to have each other."

"Amen to that," Lilly said as she stepped on the accelerator, sending the car toward the school almost silently.

As the girls pulled into their parking place, they saw their friend Oliver Oken walking toward the school. "Wow, Oliver still looks so down, doesn't he?" Lilly said, sorrow in her voice. Oliver's girlfriend for most of the last year, Lindsey Hall, had moved to Wyoming with her family last month, and Oliver had taken it hard. He and Lindsey were trying to make a long-distance relationship work, but it was appearing increasingly unworkable.

Miley said, "Let's take him to get something to eat tonight. Or maybe invite him over to the house for dinner." She and Lilly felt badly for their good friend. He had fallen hard for Lindsey, and she for him as well. However, her father had been reassigned to a different military base, and she had no choice but to go with her family. The separation had taken its toll on both of them, but at the risk of seeming selfish, Miley and Lilly were more troubled by what they were seeing Oliver go through,as the three of them had always been there for each other.

Miley rolled down the window and yelled, "Oliver!" He jerked his head around and waved as he managed a faint smile for his two friends. "C'mere!" Miley added.

Oliver turned and walked toward the small black Roadster as Lilly parked it in Miley's assigned parking place. She and Miley had split the cost for a student parking permit, since they always rode together anyway. As Oliver reached the car, Lilly killed the ignition and she and Miley carefully got out.

"Wow!" Oliver said as he got a good look at Miley's and Lilly's outfits. "Are you two trying to start a riot today or something?"

"No," Lilly said neutrally. "Why?"

"Because all the boys and a few of the girls in the school are gonna be fighting over you two today!" he said. "You two look HOT!"

"Thanks, Oliver," Miley said, "but we dressed this way for each other." Lilly walked around to Miley and Oliver and leaned against her girlfriend. "Although Lilly's skirt might get her sent home today," Miley said with a grin.

"Well, if it does, I expect you to find a reason to get sent home too," Lilly added as she looked at Miley.

With a giggle, Miley added, "Count on it." She looked at Oliver and said, "Come here, Oken." She and Lilly both held their arms open for their friend, and he walked into their embrace.

"I wish there was something we could do for you, Oliver," Lilly said softly. "Other than be there for you."

"That's enough right now, Lilly," he said, tightly holding his eyes closed to stave off the tears he felt coming. "You and Miley have really been great to talk to through all this."

Miley glanced at Lilly, catching her eye. Both of them felt terrible for their friend and what he was going through right now. "Oliver?" Miley asked.

"Yeah Miles?"

"Would you like to invite Lindsey to our wedding? The one in Niagara Falls?"

Oliver stepped back out of the girls' embrace and looked at both of them. "Seriously?" he asked. They nodded.

"We'll pay for her to fly out there and back," Lilly said. "Lola got her check from NBC last week." Lola's cameo appearance on _Heroes_ last year had proved so popular that her character had been written into several episodes of the current season,giving her a rather lucrative payday. Plus there was already talk of her being a possible nominee for an Emmy for her guest star role, which had only fueled Lilly's interest in acting further. She and Miley had been looking at colleges for a few months now, and drama programs were foremost on Lilly's mind for prospective schools.

Oliver smiled at the generosity of his friends. "You two would really do that for me?" he asked, getting a playful slap on the head from Lilly for his question.

"Well, duh!" Lilly said. "I swear Oliver, you're sweet as can be, but sometimes you are just totally dense."

Oliver rubbed his head, just slightly stinging from Lilly's well-placed swat. "Thanks," he said, unable and unwilling to hide his broad smile.

Miley and Lilly both hugged him again. "We love you, Oliver," Miley added. "And if you and Lindsey are right for each other, you need some time to find that out. We're happy to try and give you what time we can." They released him simultaneously and smiled.

"Um, we _do_ have school," Lilly said.

"Shoot!" Miley exclaimed. "We gotta hurry!" She and Lilly slung their backpacks over their shoulders and took off at a fast walk that was close to a jog, with Oliver immediately falling in with them. The parking space wasn't that far, so they were able to make it to their lockers and then to class on time.

As Miley and Lilly settled into their seats, several whistles went up softly at their appearance, making even more heads turn. "I think everyone likes your pants, Miles," Lilly whispered over her shoulder to Miley.

"Um, they're too busy staring at your hot legs, Lil," Miley whispered back with a smile on her face.

Lilly turned back around and put an expression of irritation on her face. "What?" she asked loudly. "Can't a girl dress up for her girlfriend?"

Before anyone could answer, the door closed as their chemistry teacher, Ms. Gillooly, came into the classroom just as the bell rang. Though a bit gruff, she was definitely a step up from Ms. Kunkle, the girls' teacher from the last two years whom they had mercifully avoided this year. As roll was being called, Lilly whispered back to Miley, "When are they making the announcement?"

Miley whispered back, "He asked that it be made first thing this morning, so any time, I think."

As if on cue, the speaker buzzed as the intercom clicked on. _"Good morning students and teachers,"_ said the voice of the school's principal, Mr. David Young. _"I have a surprise announcement to make that I think everyone's going to enjoy. This Wednesday, right after lunch, we will be having a special in-school concert by Hannah Montana herself!"_ Cheers erupted throughout the classroom and apparently over the entire school. After a moment, Mr. Young continued. _"Admission will be free to students, teachers and school staff, but no other visitors will be permitted. As many of you know, Ms. Montana herself is planning on getting married this weekend, and someone had told her about two of our own students who also have plans to wed this holiday weekend. Ms. Montana told her agent that she was so pleased at how accepting our school has been with Ms. Truscott and Ms. Stewart that she wanted to do something special for the students here. So please be on your best behavior over the next three days, as it would be a shame to have to cancel this concert due to poor or disruptive behavior among the student body. Have a good morning."_

As soon as the announcement ended and the intercom went silent, the hiss of voices instantly rose, prompting Ms. Gillooly to call for everyone to quieten down. Lilly and Miley looked at each other and grinned. "This is gonna be so great!" Lilly whispered with a wink at Miley. "I mean, Hannah Montana, coming here!"

Miley grinned as she answered, "Yeah, I can't wait to get to see her," winking back at Lilly.

When lunch rolled around, the school was positively abuzz with the morning's announcement. Particularly thrilled was Amber Addison, Miley and Lilly's main enemy at the school. Amber had the good fortune to sing with Hannah Montana on _Singing with the Stars_ two years ago, and she made sure no one ever forgot about it. The fact that Miley and Lilly both were more talented was a sweet irony that neither of them planned on disclosing any time soon. Following the announcement about Hannah's concert, Amber had crowed to everyone that she was sure Hannah would ask her up onto the stage to sing with her.

As Miley and Lilly sat down to eat at their usual table, Amber and her friend Ashley Dewitt stopped beside them, leaning over the table. "Not sure how you two warranted getting a star like Hannah Montana to do a concert here, but I hope you're going to stay off the stage when she gets here," Amber said. "We wouldn't want someone with a loser voice like you, Truscott, to frighten her off."

"Well, if looking at you didn't scare her off, I doubt anything could," Miley said as she cut a glare at Amber.

"Hah! Nice one, hon," Lilly said with a small snort as she laughed.

Amber straightened up as she glared down at Miley and Lilly. "Watch your mouth, Stewart," she said with a threatening voice.

"Oh, grow up, Amber!" Lilly said. "We don't buy into your little threats and your acting all cool. In fact, Miley and I could care less if we ever saw you again, and I bet most of the school feels the same way."

Miley interrupted in an attempt to quell the growing anger around her. "Look, I bet Hannah Montana just wants to do something nice for Lilly and me because she knows what it feels like to go through what Lilly and I have gone through, with dating each other and now with our wedding coming up. She really seems like she's a sweet person."

"Yeah, and her fiancée Lola is an amazing actress, too," Lilly added with a nod.

"Yeah, she sure is," Miley said, turning to grin at Lilly as she gave her a look of adoration.

The look wasn't lost on Amber, who found the look surprisingly familiar. _Where did I see a look like that just recently? It was on TV... Oh my God!_ What she thinking was so impossible that she couldn't believe it. She'd seen a look like that before, in the special on Hannah and Lola that had run last month, she was sure of it. "So, are you two going to go talk to her onstage or something once she gets here?" she said pointedly.

Miley and Lilly looked at each other. "When was the concert? Wednesday?" Miley asked her girlfriend. Lilly nodded. "Don't we have an appointment to look around USC Wednesday?"

Lilly thought, then she said, "Oh yeah! We really do!" She looked disappointed. "Shoot! I had forgotten about that."

"We could see if they'd move it back a little bit," Miley said. "I know you'd like to go to the concert."

"No, it's okay," Lilly said, shaking her head. "Our college is more important than a concert. Plus, I'm sure she'll be back around here soon."

Amber smirked. _Sure enough, they had an excuse not to be at the concert. Could it really be true? If it was, it'd definitely be the biggest news to ever hit Malibu, and if I break the news, I'll be famous!_ "Come on, Ashley, let's get away from here before their loserness oozes onto us." Amber dragged Ashley away before anything else could be said.

"Ow, Amber, I hate it when you pull me by my arm like that," Ashley whined as they walked into the bathroom. Amber checked under the stall doors, then opened all of them to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "Why did you bring me in here, Amber?"

Amber looked at Ashley and said, "Ash, what if Miley and Lilly are really Hannah Montana and Lola Luftnagle?"

Ashley looked stunned for a few seconds, then she started laughing hysterically. After taking a minute to compose herself, she finally wheezed out, "Oh Amber, that is _too_ funny!" However, when Amber grabbed her by the arms, her laughter quickly disappeared as pain shot through her arms.

"Think about it, Ashley!" Amber said angrily, jerking on Ashley's arms. "Stewart and Truscott come out to the school the same time Hannah comes out. They get engaged the same weekend Hannah and Lola get engaged. Now they're getting married the same weekend! We've never seen them at any of the Hannah Montana concerts, either, and they talk about being big fans all the time!"

"Maybe they're just being copycats to Hannah and Lola? You know, with the wedding?" Ashley said weakly.

"Or maybe they're trying to keep it a big secret! I just saw Stewart give her girlfriend a look _exactly_ like I saw Hannah give Lola in the TV special on them last month. I mean, the exact same look!" Amber smiled a predatory smile. "If we show the world who they really are, we'll be famous!"

Ashley was now more confused than usual for her. "But, Amber, I thought you liked Hannah Montana? If they really are... them, then why ruin the big secret for them?"

Amber said, "Because it's them! The two biggest losers in our school! If Miley Stewart really is Hannah Montana, then all these years she's laid back and acted like she couldn't sing, so she could laugh at me behind my back!"

"Um, I'm not sure that would be her motiv--" Ashley was cut off by Amber sharply smacking her on the side of her head. "Ow! That hurt, Amber!"

"Shut it, Ash," Amber growled. "What other reason would she have for not telling everyone how good she could sing?"

Ashley was getting irritated now. "Maybe because she didn't want everyone to make a big deal over her, like you always do over Hannah Montana?" she said hotly. "Look, I think this idea of yours is crazy. If Miley really was Hannah Montana, then she could afford to go to any private school in the country. Why on earth would she go here? I mean, really? Especially as mean as we've been to her and Lilly."

Amber thought about that. "Well, I need to check on a few things. But if I'm right, then this concert will be the perfect opportunity to see if it's true or not. And if it is true, then we're going to be famous!"

"Yeah, as the people who blew Hannah Montana's big secret," Ashley muttered, not happy with her friend's line of thinking at all.

The rest of the school day went rather uneventfully. As Miley and Lilly got into their car to drive home, Lilly said, "Oooh, wouldn't a milkshake taste great right now?"

Miley sat in the passenger seat and said, "Yeah, it really would. Good idea, Lil."

"Yeah, it was a good idea, wasn't it?" Lilly said with a grin as she started the car. "How long you think it'll take us to get the project printed tonight?"

Miley considered Lilly's question for a bit. "Not too long." She looked at her lover as they drove to the nearest ice cream shop. "I bet we'll have plenty of time to think about this weekend," she said with a smile.

Lilly squealed but kept her eyes on the road as she drove. "I just can't believe it's finally here!" she said excitedly. "In less than a week, we're going to be married!"

Miley took Lilly's hand and gently held it as they drove. "We've waited a long time for this, Lilly, but we're ready now. I know we are."

As Lilly put them into the line for the drive-through, she turned and looked at Miley. "I know we are too," she said softly as she looked into her partner's blue eyes. "And the honeymoon is going to rock, once both weddings are over. I haven't been to Disney World since I was a kid. But I'm not exactly sure I'm ready for the big wedding itself."

Miley grimaced slightly. For the first wedding in Niagara Falls, the private ceremony that would legally marry the two of them, they had been able to keep things very small and very sensible. Only a handful of guests would be attending, including Miley's father and brother, her Aunt Dolly, her grandmother Ruthie and her sister (though they still told everyone they were cousins) Luanne. On Lilly's side of the family, her parents and brother were definitely attending, but the rest of her family wasn't planning on coming. Both her aunts had to work and couldn't get away, and her uncles had offered their congratulations but didn't think they could fly their families to the other side of North America for a wedding. The only other guests that would be there were Oliver and Jackson's girlfriend Kaela Davis, plus Lindsey if she could attend. As far as Miley and Lilly were concerned, that was a big enough wedding.

However, the second ceremony was an altogether different story. Hannah's record company had been so excited about Hannah getting married that they had insisted on throwing a full-blown wedding reception and public ceremony for Hannah and Lola. The venue chosen had been the Grand Floridian resort at Disney World in Orlando, which worked well for the girls because that was where they were spending their honeymoon. It also had an on-site wedding chapel as well as an infrastructure capable of handling such a large event.

Miley and Lilly realized that the public ceremony would be a huge publicity boost for both of them as well for the record company and Disney World itself, and while it had grown larger than either of them had planned, neither of them was going to miss an opportunity to publicly express their love and commitment for each other. Some of the magazines were already comparing it to Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding in terms of viewer appeal, and the celebrity guest list was assuredly royal in caliber. Miley and Lilly had also heard rumors that the wedding was going to be televised live, but nothing definite was finalized yet. Several of Hannah and Lola's celebrity friends had already said they would be attending, and the girls were planning on sneaking Lilly's parents in disguised as part of the girls' entourage.

Miley thought about the sheer scale of the public ceremony for a while before she heard Lilly's voice calling for her attention. "What?" she said, turning to her girlfriend.

Lilly was holding out a milkshake for Miley. "I said, here's your shake, Miles," she said sweetly. "Lost in the clouds?"

Miley took the shake and smiled. "Thanks hon, and yeah, I guess I was." As they pulled away, Miley added, "I just hope this isn't so big that we're uncomfortable."

Lilly laughed. "Miles, have you ever heard of a wedding where the bride wasn't uncomfortable about s_omething_?"

"Good point," Miley said as she slurped on her milkshake. "Mmm, that's good today."

"Yeah, sure is," Lilly replied. As they pulled into the driveway at Miley's house, Lilly turned off the car. They got out, and Miley immediately plugged the car into the solar charging station. Since they had the solar station installed at this house as well, driving their car was pretty much free other than licenses and taxes. The Tesla Roadster had proven to be very reliable and required very little maintenance due to its electric nature. As they walked into the house, Lilly patted the car's hood lovingly. "Good girl, Stella," she said quietly.

As they went into the Stewarts' house, Miley said, "Hi Daddy!" as she hugged her father, who was busy setting up dinner to cook soon. Lilly followed with a, "Hi Mr. Stewart!" as she likewise hugged Robbie Ray.

"Afternoon, girls," Robbie Ray said. "You two got that project finished up?"

"Yep," Lilly said confidently. "We just need to add this last bit of information we got today, then print it all out."

Miley sat down on the couch and pulled Lilly down to sit beside her. "We got a few minutes before Daddy starts cooking dinner, Lilly. Want to go for a quick swim?"

Lilly nodded her head. "Sounds great to me, hon." The girls hurried upstairs to get changed. Once they were ready, they thundered down the steps, with Miley yelling, "We're goin' to the beach!" as they went out the door to the deck.

About fifteen minutes later, Robbie Ray had just started on dinner when the doorbell rang. He started to yell for Jackson to open the door, but then he remembered Jackson was working at Rico's until eight tonight in an attempt to make some extra money. He hurried over to the door and opened it, revealing a classmate of Miley's and Lilly's who looked vaguely familiar but wasn't someone he recognized immediately. "Can I help you?" he said.

"Uhm, Mr. Stewart?" Ashley asked nervously.

"That would be me," Robbie Ray replied. "You lookin' for Miley and Lilly?"

"Yeah, I kinda am," Ashley said. "I... need to tell them something that I think they need to know about."

**Author's Afterword:** I'll keep updating as fast as I can, but the weekly schedule tends to work best for me, as it lets me gets other things done and avoid burnout writing while still keeping updates regular. This story is going to be shorter, probably around five or six chapters, but that could always change. Hope everyone enjoys it!

-- Jo --


	2. Chapter 2: Small Steps

**Author's Note: **Thanks to everyone for the kind reviews; as always, those are immensely appreciated. I seem to have touched a collective nerve with Ashley in the previous chapter. You'll see more of her as this story unfolds, I promise. There are going to be some of you out there who can already see where part of this is going, so just enjoy it when it happens, because it's poetic justice.

For my list of disclaimers, please see Chapter 1. Please take a moment to go read those disclaimers if you haven't already. Let me repeat, **if reading about relationships between two consenting young adults of the same sex offends or upsets you, understand that my stories focus around such a relationship.** If these relationships offend or upset you but you decide to read further anyway, then do everyone a favor and don't leave nasty comments masquerading as reviews, because you were warned. It really looks silly when someone posts a "review" about how much a chapter offended him or her but then that same person turns around and reads two or three more chapters, getting offended at each one. **_If you don't like it, then stop reading it!_** Don't call other people ugly names and threaten them just because you couldn't take the time to read an author's disclaimers and warnings. If you didn't like a chapter, then just saying so will suffice. We all came to this site of our own free will, and there are plenty of excellent stories here. If my stories aren't for you, I'm confident there are many others that would fit what you're looking for.

**As I Am, I Take Thee **

by Jo P.

Chapter 2: Small Steps

_Some will win_

_Some will lose_

_Some are born to sing the blues_

--Journey;"Don't Stop Believin'"

As Ashley walked down to the beach, she found herself even more nervous than she had been driving to Miley's house. _What if they just beat me up?_ _Well, if it happens, I guess I've earned it. I'm pretty sure Miley wouldn't do something like that, not without good reason. But Lilly... Well, Lilly's got a temper, especially when it comes to her girlfriend. I just hope she hears me out before she pounces._

As she reached the sand, she stopped and removed her sandals, holding them in her left hand as she stepped onto the warm sand, feeling it squish between her toes. This part of Malibu's beaches was always kept neat and clean, and she enjoyed the warmth under her feet and toes as she walked to the towel spread on the beach. She could see and hear Miley and Lilly playing in the ocean as she got closer, and finally she was near enough for them to see her. "Hey Miley, Lilly!" Ashley said, trying to make her voice as friendly as possible as she waved to them. As they started swimming back toward shore, Ashley gingerly sat down on the large beach towel, being careful to not get sand on her dress.

Miley looked like she was going to be the first one out of the surf as she stood where the water was waist-high, but Lilly surged forward, riding a wave past Miley to be the first one out. Ashley was watching their faces under her sunglasses, and she clearly saw Miley take a good long look at Lilly's butt as Lilly stood and began walking in. _Weird. Oh well, whatever works for them._

"What do you want, Ashley?" Lilly said, more than a hint of anger in her voice as she interposed herself between Ashley and Miley.

Ashley had originally taken Lilly beating Miley in to the shore as more of Lilly's well-known competitiveness, but now she realized Lilly's true motive: she was quite literally shielding her girlfriend from any possible harm Ashley might represent.

Ashley gritted her teeth. _Well, I knew this wasn't going to be pleasant_. She looked up at Lilly, standing roughly seven or eight feet away, water still dripping off her body as she stood, hands on her hips defiantly. "Look, I know the past between us has been ugly," she said cautiously. Lilly and Miley stood silently. Miley had taken up position directly behind Lilly, her arms wrapped around Lilly's abdomen with her hands resting on Lilly's lower stomach. "And while almost everything directed at you two initially came from Amber, I was part of it by not doing anything about it." _This is harder than I thought it would be._ "I wanted to say that..." It was hard to say the words she needed to with her mouth so damn dry, but she tried again. "I wanted to say that I'm... sorry for the things we did to you. To both of you."

"Wow," Lilly said.

"You can say that again," Miley added, not believing what she was hearing.

"Wow," Lilly repeated with the same inflection in her voice, earning a playful smack on her belly from Miley, which in turn brought a giggle from Lilly. "Hey, you said to do it!"

"Do you have to do everything I say?" Miley said, her smile indicating that she certainly wasn't angry in the least.

Lilly turned her head to look over her right shoulder at Miley. "Yes, I do," she said sincerely. "I love you."

Miley gave her a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth. "Love you too, and you're sweet." Miley turned to look back at Ashley, who wasn't squirming but didn't appear too comfortable at the whole situation. Still, she hadn't reacted to their little display of affection, which was a good sign. "Toss us our towels, Ashley? Please?"

Ashley retrieved the towels out of their beach bag and tossed them one after the other to Lilly. As the girls started drying off, they moved apart so as not to bump elbows. Lilly said, "So what prompted this change of heart?"

Now Ashley did look uncomfortable. She opened her mouth to say something, then stopped herself. After trying again, she got out, "I've known that some of the things we've done to you two was wrong. But there are different levels of wrong. Calling you names and burying you on our Cool List were minor, but--"

"Well, minor or not, they still weren't nice," Miley interjected.

"I know," Ashley said, "but trying to get Lilly hurt at the soccer game was really wrong. I know you won't believe me when I say this, but it's true. It really was Amber's idea to do that, _but_--" she raised her hands for emphasis-- "I did go along with it, so it's my fault too. But after we got suspended for that, I really got in big trouble with my parents." She looked away for a minute as Miley and Lilly sat on the large towel with her, then she took off her sunglasses and looked back at them. "I lost my car for the rest of the school year, and if I get in any more trouble at school, I lose it permanently. I'd have to get a job to buy a new one, and there is no way I'm doing that."

Lilly and Miley glanced at each other, but neither made a comment.

"What made me come by here today is that Amber is starting to get obsessed with getting back at you two, and I wanted to warn you that she's got the crazy idea that you two are really Hannah Montana and Lola Luftnagle."

That got both Miley's and Lilly's attention. "Ashley say what?" Miley said, truly surprised. Lilly looked at Miley with a nervous look, but both girls maintained their composure.

"Yeah, that's just... crazy!" Lilly added. "I mean, you've seen how well I do on stage," she added, hoping Ashley would be quick to remember Lilly's attempt to sing at the freshmen talent show.

Ashley nodded her head as she said, "Yeah, exactly. I mean, Hannah is just amazing, and there's no way to hide that kind of talent. And the same for Lola. She's just the coolest on _Heroes_! Plus her fashion sense is really unique. Like, she can wear anything and make it work!"

Miley raised a hand to interrupt Ashley. "Okay, getting back to the crazy idea part," she said. "Whatever put this loony idea in Amber's ratty little head?"

"She said it was some look that you gave Lilly during lunch. She said she saw that exact same look on that special on Hannah and Lola the other night."

Lilly quickly said, "Well, I think lots of people madly in love with each other give their partners looks like that all the time." She reached out and gently stroked Miley's left cheek with her right hand. "Especially when their girlfriend's this beautiful."

Miley gently captured Lilly's hand and held it. "Aww, you are so sweet, Lil. Thank you," she said as she looked into Lilly's eyes.

"You're welcome," Lilly responded. She turned back to Ashley and asked, "And what part are you playing in this?"

Ashley looked surprised. "I'm not playing anything with her anymore!" she said abruptly. "She's stuck-up, she's hateful and she's mean. Being around her used to be fun, but now it's just a pain in my butt. I never get to have a good time, I never get to do anything unless it's with her, and I am OVER IT!"

Miley and Lilly both pulled back slightly at Ashley's mini-rant. She looked at each other and silently agreed that she definitely seemed quite sincere. "Okay, Ashley," Miley said. "Thank you for telling us this so we'll be ready for her latest little attempt to make our lives hell."

Lilly looked closely at Ashley for several seconds before she spoke, "Ashley, I remember when we were in elementary school, before you started hanging out with Amber. You were a sweet person and you were smarter than you gave yourself credit for." She gingerly took Ashley's hand, and surprisingly Ashley didn't try to pull away. "I hope you can get away from Amber, because I think that you lost yourself somewhere along the way. You need to find that good person that you used to be, because she's still in there somewhere."

Ashley blinked twice and tears rolled her cheeks. "How can you say something like that to me?" she whispered. "After all the things Amber and I did to you two, how can you not hate me?"

"Because we're not good at hating people," Miley said honestly. "We don't like you very much, but that might be changing." Ashley was wiping her eyes with her fingers as Miley handed her a clean towel. "We really appreciate you telling us this. Really. And while I didn't know you until I moved here, I know enough to trust Lilly. If she thinks there's good in you, then there is." Miley smiled as Ashley's tears slowed and stopped. "Maybe we can try to be friends?"

Ashley nodded. "I think... I think I'd like that."

Lilly squeezed Miley's hand in approval. "You have to get away and stay away from Amber, Ashley. She'll try to suck you back in and make you a part of this crazy idea of hers. What is she planning exactly?"

"I don't know, she didn't tell me. But knowing her, she'll do whatever it is in front of the whole school during the Hannah concert Wednesday. She likes an audience."

"Makes sense," Lilly said, looking at Miley. "She's nuts! I mean, she's going to get expelled if she pulls something on us. Remember what the school super said last year?" Left unsaid was Lilly's concern that Amber might actually succeed in proving Miley to be Hannah Montana.

Miley nodded. "Yeah, but that just means she'll be swingin' for the fences. We need to be really careful during the concert." Sensing Lilly's true concern, Miley added, "I'll have Daddy tell the record company to make sure Hannah has enough security there, so nothing happens to her in case Amber flips out when she sees that neither of us is Hannah Montana." _And I have just the plan to make sure the whole school sees that she's wrong._

"We need to get back up to the house and eat dinner," Lilly said, looking at the watch in their beach bag. "You want to walk back up to the house with us?" she asked Ashley.

"Sure," said Ashley, unconvincingly.

The three girls walked up the beach, Miley and Lilly slightly in front and Ashley trailing slightly behind. Ashley watched how Miley and Lilly were playfully pushing each other, laughing as they walked on ahead. Eventually the playing gave way to holding hands, and Ashley had to admit that they really did act like any other couple in love. _I'm just not attracted to that. But I don't have to be. I wonder if they're uncomfortable being around boy-girl couples. I did see them at that bowling alley with Kaela and Miley's brother and another couple. _"Are you two, you know, creeped out when you're around boys with girls? You know, like on a group date or at school?"

They had reached the deck of the Stewart house, and Miley and Lilly kicked off their flip-flops and began washing the sand off their feet with the hose. Lilly looked up at Ashley and said, "No. Why should we be? None of us can help who we fall in love with."

Miley finished washing her feet and stepped up onto the deck, wiping her feet on one of the doormats. "Ashley, Lilly and I dated boys for several years, remember? And neither of us has ever really had feelings for another girl. It's just that we fell in love with each other." She looked at Lilly, who had now also stepped up onto the deck and began drying her feet. "And now that I have Lilly, I could never truly love anyone else. She's perfect for me," Miley added with a loving look at her fiancée.

Lilly leaned over and kissed Miley lightly on the lips. "And I feel the same way." She turned to Ashley. "Ashley, it's all about acceptance. We accept that you have a crush on Gary Mendes--"

"I do not!" Ashley said loudly, but it didn't slow Lilly down at all.

"--and that's cool with us," she finished.

"Ashley," Miley said, stepping forward to pat her left shoulder lightly, "thank you so much for telling us about Amber's loony idea. But we need to go eat dinner." On cue, Lilly's stomach growled softly.

"Oops," Lilly said with a giggle. "See you at school tomorrow, Ashley." She took Miley's hand as she said, "After you, Miles," opening the door for Miley. Lilly followed Miley inside and softly closed the door, giving Ashley a quick wave before she turned around.

"Bye," Ashley said to the closed door, almost too faint to hear. She turned and walked back to her car, her brain processing the conversation of the last half hour as she slowly drove home. _They're right about Amber. I'm done with that witch_. _But can I stand up to her?_ She slapped her steering wheel in anger. "Dammit, if those two girls could stand up to Amber and me both, then I can sure as hell stand up to Amber!"

Dinner stood no chance against Lilly's appetite, and it was vanquished in short order. "Wow, that was great, Mr. Stewart," Lilly said as she leaned back in her chair. Miley stood up and kissed Lilly on top of her head as she took her plate to the sink. "I didn't leave much to clean off, Miles," Lilly said proudly.

Miley looked at the empty plate. "Uh, no. You didn't." She held it up, making a show of examining its surface. "Did you lick this plate to get it so clean?" A wadded-up napkin lightly smacked the side of her head.

"Ha ha," Lilly said sarcastically. "No, I didn't." _But I can sure thing of something I'd like to lick. _ She fixed Miley with a look that radiated heat across the room, and right at that time Miley turned to say something to Lilly.

_Oh no. I know what that look means._ Miley felt the back of her neck tingle as it began to heat up from both the desire in Lilly's eyes and her own need for Lilly. _Oh girl, you're burnin' me up!_ Miley had intended to get her own plate, but she was flexible. "Lilly! We forgot about that... Science test!" she said hurriedly. "We have to go over it now!" She took off toward the stairs. "Daddy, leave the table like it is, we'll clean it up in about thirty minutes!"

Lilly began backing away from the table as she stammered, "Oh, yeah, as soon as we're, um, we're done with the..."

"The Science test!" Miley hissed from the foot of the stairs.

"Right, the Science test!" Lilly said. As she reached the foot of the stairs, Miley reached down and grabbed Lilly by her right arm, pulling her up the steps. "Hey, don't rip my arm out of its socket!" Lilly said loudly as they disappeared up the stairs.

Twenty minutes later, the impromptu "study session" was over, as both girls lay spent on the bed, with Miley sprawled across Lilly's body as the radio played loudly. "That was...," Lilly said softly, trying to find the right words as she idly played with Miley's thick chestnut brown hair, spilling across Miley's back and around Lilly's chest. Miley smiled silently as she looked in Lilly's eyes, awaiting the end of Lilly's statement. Lilly's soft blue eyes sparkled as she proudly said, "That was perfect." She gently pulled Miley's mouth down and kissed her warmly.

As they separated, Lilly flicked her tongue up and lightly licked Miley's lower lip, prompting a sudden shudder from her lover. "You like that?" Lilly said with a grin.

"You know it, girlfriend," Miley said happily. "But we need to go down and finish clearing the table. You need to get back to your parents' house." She glanced up at the clock on their dresser. "It's already nine."

"Yeah, you're right," Lilly said. She gave Miley another kiss, then she let Miley stand up. As Miley stood, her now unruly hair fell around her chest, making Lilly smile even more. "Miley, you are just gorgeous," Lilly said. "I'm so lucky to have you."

Miley smiled and took Lilly's hand, helping her stand. She gently brushed Lilly's hair back over her shoulders, admiring the way Lilly's braids accentuated the natural glowing beauty of her hair. "Just like I'm lucky to have you, sweetheart," she said. "Now get dressed." She tossed Lilly her bra and began looking for her own.

Lilly retrieved their panties from the other side of the bed. "Miles," she said, getting Miley's attention so she could toss Miley her panties. "I think I tossed it thataway," Lilly said, pointing toward the window.

Miley stepped into her underwear and walked over in the direction of the window. "It'd be easier to find if you turned on the light," she grumbled.

"Hello! No bra? In front of our window? You see the problem here?" Lilly said as she fastened her own bra.

"Aha!" Miley said as she bent and retrieved her missing article of clothing from behind the pink beanbag. She proudly stood and slipped it on. "Okay, Bra Tosser, will you hand me my shirt please?" she said teasingly.

Lilly passed Miley her pajamas instead. "You need these, hon."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess I do."

Lilly pulled her pants up and buttoned them. "Okay hon, walk me to the door?" she said as she tugged her shirt back on.

"Always," Miley said as she took Lilly's hand. "What do you think we should do about Amber?"

"Well, I have an idea," Lilly said with a grin.

Miley mirrored her grin. "Does your idea start with Lu- and end with -anne?"

"Yup," Lilly said with a nod. "You gonna check and see if she can come out a day early?"

"I'm on it, girlfriend," Miley said. They walked downstairs and saw that the table had already been cleared. "Daddy!" Miley said to her father, sitting on the couch watching television. "You were supposed to leave that for us to clean up."

"I figured it'd be okay to let your girls off this time," Robbie Ray without turning around.

Lilly walked over to him and gave him a hug from behind as she leaned over the couch. "Thanks," she said, then she gave him a kiss on the head. "Are you gonna be able to deal with both of us living here?" she asked playfully.

Robbie Ray glanced back over his shoulder at Lilly. "Oh yeah," he said eagerly. "Twice the work will get done around the house then!"

Lilly tousled his hair lightly as she stood back up. "Stinker," she said with a smile. She walked over to the back door, meeting Miley there. "Good night sweetheart."

Miley claimed a quick kiss as Lilly opened the door. "Night hon. Call me when you get home."

"I always do," Lilly said as she stepped outside. "Night," she said as she opened the car door.

"Night," Miley said softly. She watched with the door slightly ajar until Lilly had started the car and was backing out, then she closed the door and walked over the couch. She plopped down beside her father with a sigh. When she got no response, she sighed again, louder this time.

Robbie Ray turned to look at his daughter. "Something botherin' you, Miles?" he said with a mockingly curious voice.

Miley sat leaning forward, her head resting on her hands. "It's silly," she muttered.

"Must not be that silly if it's botherin' you."

She sat up and turned to face her father. "I still miss Lilly on school nights. I mean, less than a week and we won't have to spend the night apart any more, but even knowing that I still miss her tonight." She ran her hands through her thick hair. "I mean, she just left! How can I be missing her already?"

Robbie Ray looked at his daughter, and something he never, ever expected happened.

"Daddy?" Miley said, concern in her voice. "Why... Why are you crying?"

"I'm not cryin'," Robbie Ray said as he rubbed his eyes. "Just got something in my eye." _She's grown up_. On the surface, it was a silly thought. Miley was newly seventeen, but she hadn't been a child for a long time. And she still had some ways to go before fully being an adult. But now, with marriage just days away, he realized his little girl had become a young woman some time back.

Miley leaned over and hugged her father tightly. "Daddy, thank you. For everything you've done for Jackson and me. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for loving Lilly. And thank you for raising me to be who I am today."

"Miles, you're the one responsible for the wonderful young lady you are today. I just kinda helped you out now and then when you needed it." He hugged her tightly, at once wishing she never had to leave childhood yet proud of the woman she had become. He leaned back and looked his daughter in the eyes. "I'm proud of you, Miley. And your mother would be proud of you too."

Miley saw the wetness in his eyes, but she didn't comment or try to wipe it away. Instead she corrected him. "No, Daddy, she _is_ proud of me."

Robbie Ray smiled again. "Right. She certainly is." He took a look at Miley and opened his mouth to say something about her mother, but he just couldn't. The memories, even years later, were still too painful, the wound still raw and painful. "I still miss her," he said, turning her face away from his daughter so she wouldn't see any more tears.

Miley put her arms her father from behind and rested her head against his back. "And I know she still misses you, Daddy. But she still loves you, I know. I can feel it."

Robbie Ray didn't turn around. Not yet. "Miles, a while back you had said that sometimes you had dreams about her. What... kind of dreams?"

Miley had been waiting on this question for over a year now, and she answered without hesitation. "Good dreams. Dreams where she tells us that she still loves us. That she still loves you and misses you. Dreams where she told Lilly and me that we were right for each other, that we were meant to be together. And dreams that tell us that we have a wonderful future ahead of us."

Robbie Ray wiped his eyes with the bottom part of his shirt, and then he turned back around. "Miley, your momma had a gift, and I think you got part of it from her. She could--"

"See things in her dreams," Miley finished. "I know." She felt her own tears trickle forth, but she held her voice steady. "I got one of my own dreams to come true," she said quietly. "I got her to meet Lilly in one of my dreams. I had wanted that for so long, and it happened last summer."

Robbie Ray looked at his daughter carefully. "Miley, you and Lilly have got somethin' real special. I can't explain it or understand it, but you two need each other. All those times when the two of you fought and went a day or two without speakin' to each other, you two were miserable. It was like all the life just drained out of you. When Lilly's around, that life comes back, stronger than ever. And it spreads to everyone around you two. Look at the change in Jackson since you and Lilly started datin'. That boy went from actin' a fool to buildin' a life for himself. He found a young lady who loves him, he started studyin' more, heck, he's goin' to college, Miles."

"Did he get in?" Miley asked, surprise in her voice.

Robbie Ray nodded. "Got the letter today from UT. I called and told him at work. He and Kaela were goin' out to celebrate, that's why he's not home yet."

A smile spread across Miley's face. "I'm so proud of him," she said sincerely.

"So am I, Miles. So am I." Robbie Ray patted his daughter on her left cheek. "When you and Lilly are together, Miles, it's kinda like the sun shinin'. Things look brighter for everyone around you." He tapped her chest, over her heart. "There's so much love and goodness in you two, it spills over and makes everyone a better person. You girls have a bond that runs deeper than anything I've ever seen, and that's why it hurts for you two to be apart." He smiled. "But you're not gonna be apart much longer, even at night." Now he sighed. "I'm getting' old, Miles," he said wistfully.

"No, Daddy," Miley said earnestly, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "You've been old for a while now," she added with a grin, then shrieked as her tickled her ribs. "Okay, okay, I take it back!" she yelled, happy to see the grin on his face. She hugged him one more time. "I love you, Daddy. Thank you for everything you've done for me. For us."

"You are welcome, Miles," he said as he held the young woman who would always be his baby girl tightly. "You are welcome."

Shortly after that conversation, Lilly did indeed call to tell Miley good night, and Miley made a call to her aunt Dolly in Nashville. It was quite late there, but Dolly understood and promised she'd have Luanne on a plane to California that evening. The next morning at school went quickly, but both Miley and Lilly remained vigilant about Amber and her plans. At lunchtime, Miley, Lilly and Oliver were eating when Kaela stopped by with a surprising companion. "Hey, musketeers," Kaela said with a smile. "I'm heading to fourth period, but do you mind if Ashley sits with you today?" Kaela and Ashley shared a homeroom, and they had been dismissed to lunch directly from there today, as it was a Tuesday.

"Sure," Miley said.

Ashley said, "Thanks," as she sat down. "I wasn't really sure where to sit today."

"It's no problem," Lilly added. "We were just talking wedding stuff." Left unsaid was exactly _which_ wedding they had been discussing.

While the subject of Miley's and Lilly's relationship wasn't something that Ashley thought about endlessly, there were a few points that she _was_ curious about. "So, like, how exactly is that going to happen? I mean, isn't it illegal for two women or two men to get married in the U.S.?"

Lilly swallowed, then she said, "That's why we're going to Canada to get married. It's legal up there."

"And it stays legal when we come back here," Miley added.

"Oh," Ashley said. "Wow. I didn't know that." She turned to Oliver and said, "Who are you?"

Oliver looked disheartened, but then Miley and Lilly started laughing, making him say, "It's not that funny!"

"Oh, it's pretty funny!" Miley countered, with Lilly nodded in assent, her own mouth full.

"Oliver," he said to Ashley. "Oliver Oken? We have American History together?"

"Oh. I don't really pay attention in class that much," Ashley said. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Oliver said. He forced a smile on his face as he said, "I'm glad you finally realized that Amber is just plain trouble. I always thought you used to be pretty nice back before middle school when you started hanging around with her."

Ashley looked down at her plate as she pushed her fork around the salad she had in front of her. "Yeah, I seem to have made some dumb decisions over the last few years."

"We all have," Miley said. "But as long as we learn from them, it's okay." She looked at Lilly. "I let a cute face and puppy love lead me into making what could have been the worst mistake of my life."

"And we both let being scared keep us apart for over a year," Lilly said as she piled her trash on her tray. She turned to look at Ashley. "But Ashley, we learned, just like you have. Now you get to start fresh."

"Yeah, with no friends. All of my old friends won't talk to me now. They're too scared of Amber."

Oliver, Miley and Lilly all three looked at Ashley intensely until she finally said, "What?" Then it hit her. "Oh! You mean..." All three nodded. "Really?" Ashley said, a smile creeping across her face. Another set of three nods was her answer.

"You've got friends, Ashley," Oliver said. "You just have to know where to look for them."

Ashley looked like she was about to cry. "Thanks," she said. "I need to take my tray back," she said, abruptly standing up and hurrying to drop her tray off, then she headed to the bathroom.

"I really feel bad for her," Lilly said. "But she's doing the right thing now."

Miley watched Ashley go into the bathroom as she said, "She's got lots of baggage she's carryin' around, but I think she'll be okay. Hey, wasn't Sarah looking for a partner on her latest community service project?"

"Yeah, she was," Oliver said. "Should we steer her in Ashley's direction?"

"But they're totally different!" Lilly said, then realization slowly dawned on her face. "Which is... maybe what Ashley needs right now."

"Exactly!" Miley said, a big smile on her face. "Now, any word on what Amber has planned for tomorrow?"

"Nothing," Oliver said as he shook his head. "I've got lots of people keeping an eye on her, though."

Lilly stood, prompting the other two to stand as well. "You know, maybe we're giving her too much credit here. Who's to say she isn't just planning on charging the stage during the concert?"

Miley didn't like the sound of that too much, but then she remembered something that gave her great comfort. "Sweetheart, I think Roxy can handle that approach."

"Okay, good," Lilly said with obvious relief. "But we're going have to work fast before and after the concert to get our own plans done."

"Yeah," Miley said as they in turn deposited their trays on the conveyor belt carrying them into the dishwashing room. "So we have to make sure we're in the right places. Good thing we just happen to know the setup for when and where Hannah's supposed to be." She took Lilly's hand as they and Oliver started walking to the lockers just as the bell rang. "Now we just need the last piece of the plan, and she'll be here tonight."

After school was out, Miley and Lilly were walking to their car when a sneering voice behind them said, "Well, well, if isn't the losers."

Without turning around or stopping walking, Miley said, "Get lost, Amber. We've got nothin' to say to you." But then a firm hand grabbed Miley's right wrist and spun her around. Immediately Lilly swung her backpack off her shoulder, striking Amber in the forearm and breaking her grip on Miley.

"Touch my woman again and they'll be carrying you out of this parking lot!" Lilly yelled at Amber as she moved between her and Miley.

Amber flexed her right wrist carefully, then she gave Lilly her evil grin she did so well. "My my, did I touch a nerve Truscott? Afraid someone's going to rearrange your little slut's face--"

Lilly's punch cut off the rest of Amber's insult. Her fist caught Amber squarely on the left cheek and sent her sprawling backwards onto the concrete. Miley quickly grabbed Lilly by both shoulders and began pulling her to the car. "Come on, Lilly! If we stick around here, we're all gonna get expelled!"

"Let me go, Miles! That bitch deserves this!" Lilly jerked in an attempt to slip Miley's grasp, but Miley held her firmly and continued to tug her toward their car. Thankfully, they were already near the Roadster, and just a few more steps saw them at their destination.

"Lilly!" Miley practically yelled at her girlfriend, finally getting her attention. "If you finish giving Amber what she deserves, then you're gonna get expelled too!" Lilly turned and looked at Miley, understanding that Miley was right. Miley took a look at Amber, who was trying to get up. Apparently Lilly had hit her pretty hard, because Amber looked rather wobbly as she struggled to stand up. "I love you, and yes, she deserves to have her ass kicked, but this is not the time or the place! Now get in the car. Please." She tapped in the code to open Lilly's door then hurried around to her own side. They both sat down at the same time,and Miley quickly started the car as Amber finally got to her feet and began running toward them.

"You just wait until tomorrow!" Amber screamed as she ran after the shiny gray-black car, rapidly falling behind as Miley accelerated away. "I'll show everyone in this school who you really are, Miley Stewart!"

"She is really flipping out," Lilly said as she watched Amber fall away behind them. She turned back around and said to Miley, "Thank you for getting me to the car. You're exactly right, of course."

"About what?" Miley said. She slowed down as they pulled onto the road in front of the school, then she accelerated as they sped away from the school.

"About me getting in trouble too if we had been caught back there. But she did grab you first, and I _was_ defending you."

Miley smiled, then she said, "It felt great to see you pop her one. She had it coming."

Lilly looked at her knuckles, which were a bit red but nothing too serious. "Oh, she's got lots more than that coming. But like you said, that wasn't the time or the place." They drove in silence for a minute or two, holding hands, before Lilly asked, "What time is Luanne's plane getting in?"

"Six. We can't fit her in our car, so I figured we'd ride in to the airport with Daddy."

"Makes sense," Lilly agreed. "So your house then?"

Miley nodded. "We were supposed to got an updated guest list for the big wedding this afternoon. We can look at it together when we get to the house."

"Sounds good," Lilly said. "Are there going to be any surprises at the wedding that you've planned?"

Miley glanced at Lilly quickly. "Maybe," she said coyly.

"Are you going to sing some? And dance with me?"

"Of course I'm gonna dance with you, silly!" Miley said. "It's our wedding! But I'm not sure about singing. I mean, I want to stay with you the whole time."

Lilly turned so she was facing Miley, then she said, "Miley, I love hearing you sing. And part of our lives has been you performing while I get the privilege of watching you do such an amazing job." She squeezed Miley's hand. "I love that. So please sing at least one or two songs at our wedding. For me."

When Lilly said that, all Miley's confusion about whether or not it was proper for her to perform at their own wedding evaporated. Lilly wanted her to do it, and that was all that mattered. "Okay," Miley said. "For you, anything."

"Yay," Lilly said softly with a smile. "And thank you."

**Author's Afterword:** Next chapter, Hannah Montana rocks Seaview High! See you as soon as I can get it finished, and Happy New Year!

-- Jo --


	3. Chapter 3: Timing Is Everything

**Author's Note: **Thanks to everyone for the really nice reviews; that's always appreciated by any author. We've had some really good Liley stories posted recently, and I'm so happy to read them! However, the number one story I'm still waiting on is **LaughLoveLive**'s sequel to "Requited." That story curled my toes when I first read it months ago, and it still does it to me every time I reread it! 3L's take on Lilly and Miley, "The Best of Both Worlds," was also exquisite, and I'm doing my best to patiently wait for that sequel as well. I'm also finding myself pleasantly distracted by **MrFishy'**s outstanding stories, which I likewise recommend wholeheartedly. Finally, there have recently been some great Liley oneshots by** xTexasGalx** and two short but great stories by **LJBard**. If you're a Liley fan and some of these names aren't familiar to you, consider checking them out. They all bring a slightly different take to the subject, and each of them does a great job. I'm dedicating this chapter and the next to all of you authors out there! Keep working on those ideas and we'll keep reading them!

For my list of disclaimers, please see Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. Also, please exercise some common sense when reading this or any other story. _If you don't like it, then stop reading it!_

**As I Am, I Take Thee **

by Jo P.

Chapter 3: Timing Is Everything

_Can't you see I'm just an ordinary girl_

_Livin' in an extraordinary world_

_Tryin' to live_

_Tryin' to learn_

_Tryin' to just be who I am_

--Hannah Montana;"Just Like You"

Miley looked at her watch for about the fifth time in the last few minutes, prompting a gentle swat on her left wrist with the magazine Lilly was reading. "Sorry," Miley muttered. "I just wish they'd let 'em get off that plane already!"

Lilly closed the magazine and looked at her girlfriend. "Miley, they've got all sorts of things they have to do before they let the passengers unload."

"What kind of things?" Miley asked heatedly.

"I don't know!" Lilly replied. "Airplane... stuff, I guess!"

"Airplane stuff?"

"Yeah, airplane stuff."

Miley held her serious look a few seconds longer before dissolving into a giggle, triggering the same reaction from Lilly. "Oh my gosh, Lil, airplane stuff? Is that the best you could do?"

"Hey, I don't know what all they have to do. I just fly on the planes, I don't work on 'em." Lilly popped her gum, a bit louder than she had intended. Heads turned around the crowd waiting on the passengers of Flight 1055 from Memphis to disembark, with one grumpy-looking older woman glaring at Lilly and shaking her head. "Sorry!" Lilly said in a stage whisper. "Man, why are some of these people so grouchy?"

"Probably because they've been waiting twenty minutes for their family and friends to get off the plane, same as us," Miley said as she lightly poked Lilly on the chest. "And that was a loud pop."

"But you still love me, right?" Lilly said with a grin as she gently grabbed Miley's hand and kissed it.

"Always," Miley said with a smile as she put her left arm around Lilly's waist and settled her hand on Lilly's hip, hooking her thumb into the waist of Lilly's capri pants.

The sound of a door banging open instantly drew both girls' attention back to the door at the end of the airport gate, where passengers were finally beginning to trickle into the airport. "I hope we can still recognize her," Lilly said. "I mean, it's been six months since we've seen her last."

"Lilly, she's my sister. I think we'll recognize her, don't you? After all, how much could she have changed?"

"Um, a lot, I think," Lilly said, her eyes firmly glued to the stream of people as she raised her hand and waved. Miley turned and was likewise struck by the change in her sister Luanne's appearance. Born Miley's twin, Luanne had told Miley and Lilly last month that she had set out to make her own identity for herself in her mind, and some physical changes apparently accompanied her change in mindset. The long chestnut brown locks that Miley still wore had been cut short by Luanne into a near bob. Her hair color and face were still identical to Miley's, but a thin wire-rimmed pair of glasses accentuated her face nicely, framing her crystal blue eyes. Luanne was wearing a denim jacket over a Hannah Montana t-shirt, matching her faded jeans and running shoes. But more striking than all those changes was the smile on Luanne's face, which only grew as she saw Miley and Lilly waiting on her. As soon as a break in the crowd presented itself, she made a beeline for the girls.

As they met, Luanne dropped her carry-on bag and enfolded both Miley and Lilly in a hug. "It's so good to see you two again!" Luanne said. "How are my two favorite girls in the world?"

"We're great!" Lilly said happily as she hugged Luanne and Miley both.

"We're better than great," Miley said, wrapped up in the group hug. "We're amazing. Especially now that you're here." They stepped back slightly, and Lilly grabbed Luanne's bag to carry it. They started walking toward the baggage claim area, with Robbie Ray joining them just then.

"Land's sakes, Luanne! I didn't recognize you there," he said in a friendly way. "Glad you're here safe and sound."

"I'm glad to be here, Robbie Ray," Luanne said pleasantly. "Little bit of a delay back there, but that's okay."

"Luanne, you look great!" Miley said, taking in her sister's new look. "But I thought you had the laser surgery on your eyes?"

"I did, these are just for looks," Luanne said with a grin. "I looked at the same angry person in the mirror for so long, it's nice to see a different me now." There was a hint of bitterness in Luanne's voice, but no more than a hint. "So, have you got dinner cooked for me already?" she asked eagerly.

Robbie Ray caught up and said, "Well, I figured I'd take you three beautiful ladies out to dinner tonight, if that's alright."

"That would be perfect," Luanne said politely. "Let's get my bags, and then this girl needs some food in her. A three-hour flight with nothin' but peanuts and Sprite is just cruel!"

All of Luanne's bags made it to Malibu with her, and the four of them had a lovely dinner at one of Miley and Lilly's favorite Japanese steakhouses. By the time they made it back to the Stewart house, it was nearly nine o'clock, but none of the girls showed any sign of being tired yet. Jackson was sitting on the couch watching television when they burst in the front door, talking at full volume and high speed. "Hey, I'm tryin' to watch a show here!" he said loudly.

"Jackson Stewart!" Miley said loudly. "Is that any way to greet your cousin?"

Jackson turned around and did a double take at Luanne's appearance. "Luanne?"

"Hi Jackson," Luanne said politely. She turned to Miley and Lilly, standing right beside her with each holding one of Luanne's suitcases, and said, "I'm startin' to feel a little tired now. Can we go on up to the room so I can get ready for bed?"

"Sure," Lilly said as Miley nodded her head in agreement. They went ahead and started up the stairs with Luanne following them up. As they went into the girls' bedroom, Luanne took a look around. ""Look any different?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah, from what I can remember," Luanne said. "Not a lot has changed, but the covers on the bed are different, and there are _tons_ of pictures of you two everywhere." She picked up a picture of Miley, Lilly, and Lilly's parents and examined it. "Your parents?" she asked Lilly after a minute or two.

"Yeah," Lilly said, peeking at the picture. "Miley and I had that picture made for our anniversary this summer, plus we did one with Miley's dad. We wanted pictures with our families."

"We also had some made with Jackson and Lilly's brother, Ron," Miley said. "But we needed one more to get the whole family, and we couldn't get that picture made at that time."

"Who's missing?" Luanne asked. "Aunt Dolly?"

"No, silly!" Lilly said with a smile. "You!"

Luanne was surprised by Lilly's statement. "Me?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, you," Miley said as she set Luanne's suitcase down beside the closet. She walked back over to Luanne and Lilly and said softly, "You _are_ my sister, you know," smiling as she lightly tousled Luanne's hair. "The family pictures aren't complete until we have one with you too!"

Lilly stepped over beside Luanne and added, "Which is why we're going to have our picture made with you tomorrow after school and the concert. If that's okay with you," she hastily added.

Luanne walked over to the window and looked outside, taking in the moon glowing over the ocean. She turned back around with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. "I'd love that," she said.

"Aw," Lilly said, "don't cry, okay? Because if you cry, then I'll cry, and then Miley'll cry, and then--"

"We'll all be swimmin' to breakfast in the morning!" Miley said triumphantly. "But seriously, Luanne, we want you to know that you are absolutely part of our family. Whether you feel more comfortable being there as a cousin or as a sister, we just want you there, okay?"

Luanne nodded her head. It had been a very, very long year for her. She had spent over three months inside an intensive psychiatric facility, where she received therapy and counseling for the abuse she had suffered in childhood as well as treatment for what had initially been called antisocial personality disorder. However, the progress she had made over this last year had been remarkable, prompting the psychiatrists and counselors to rethink that particular diagnosis, as it tended to be extremely resistant to treatment. Now the prevailing diagnosis was that Luanne's aggressive behavior represented a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, possibly with some bipolar tendencies. What everyone had agreed on was that Luanne possessed a tremendous amount of willpower and drive. Her earnest desire to get better was the spark that powered her recovery, and though it had been a very long road of inpatient and outpatient treatment, Luanne had persevered. She had no illusions that she was "cured." She knew that those childhood memories would always be with her, ready to appear without warning. Her temper and her anger would also always be a part of her personality. However, she now had developed some control over her anger rather than allow it to control her. Luanne realized that her rage had consumed many years of her life, years that she would never get back. Come hell or high water, she wasn't going to lose any more of her life to it.

As tears continue to trickle down her cheeks, Luanne sat down on the bed and opened her arms wide. Instantly, Miley and Lilly were sitting beside her, one on each side, holding her while she cried. As Lilly had predicted, Luanne's tears did start a chain reaction that ended with all three of them crying, but after a few minutes, the tears subsided and the smiles began to emerge, like rainbows following a thunderstorm.

"Thank you. Both of you," Luanne said again. "I love you two, you know that?"

"Yeah," Miley said, wiping her tears with her free right hand. "We know it. Just like you know that we love you, too."

"Ab-so-fa-lutely!" said Lilly energetically, getting a look from both Miley and Luanne.

"What the heck does that mean?" Luanne asked with a laugh.

"I dunno, I just made it up!" Lilly said with a perky voice. "But it made you laugh!"

Miley beamed as she looked into Lilly's eyes. "I swear, Lilly Truscott, you can be goofy at times, but you always make me happy." She reached out and took Lilly's left hand. "I love you."

Lilly squeezed Miley's right hand with her left. "I love you, too, Miles."

"Well, if this is leading where I think it is, I think that's my cue to extricate myself!" Luanne said as she slid out of their grasp and plopped onto the floor, leaving Miley and Lilly laughing wildly at her haste.

"We do have more self-control than that, Luanne!" Lilly said, still laughing. "And we don't want you to be uncomfortable around us, either."

Luanne tucked her legs under her as she got into a sitting position on the floor. "Well, I did a lot of soul searching while I was in Searchlight, and one of the things I thought about was exactly how I felt about my sexuality. The first thing that I was really sure of is that I'm certainly not gay."

"Well, duh," Lilly added. "You were sure ready to pucker up for Oliver last time you were out here."

"He was kinda cute!" Luanne said defensively. "In that hopeless puppy dog way..."

"Well, he's been seeing this one girl for over a year now, but she had to move to Wyoming last month. It's been really hard on him lately." Miley paused. "Lilly and I are flying her out to the wedding in Niagara Falls."

"Well, we offered to," Lilly clarified. "Oliver hasn't actually asked her yet." She gave a sad look to Luanne. "And even if he and Lindsey do decide that things are over for the two of them, I just don't think there's any way he'd be ready to date anyone again this quickly."

Luanne held her hands out in front of her and shook her head. "Oh no, please don't think I'm going to be searching for some boy while I'm out here. The only reason I'm here is to spend time with you two and get to know my family better."

"And to help us shut down this real bitch at school," Miley added.

"Yes, and to help you shut down that real bitch at your school," Luanne repeated with a smile. "Oh, thanks to the Homebound program, I was able to finish my sophomore year last month! I start my junior curriculum in two weeks!"

"Way to go, Lu!" Lilly said, giving her a high five. "Are you planning on getting back into a school for your senior year?"

Luanne nodded as she replied, "I'd really like to, but I'm still not sure if I could handle that real well yet. I guess it'll just take me trying it to find out."

"Luanne," Miley said seriously as she looked into her sister's eyes. "You are brilliant. When you really put your mind on something, you can make it work."

Luanne looked down at the rug next to Miley's bed. "You're right," she said quietly. "The real question is, do I _want_ to go back to a regular school? I'm just not sure right now." She looked back up at Miley and Lilly. No sign of criticism or disapproval was to be found on either face, just compassion. "I have some time to find the answer to that. I've learned that I need to be honest with myself, because that's a very important part of dealing with these mental demons of mine. Self-deception is a form of denial, and it leads to places I don't ever want to visit again." Sensing that the mood in the room was about to turn somber again, Luanne said, "So, what's the deal with this girl at your school?"

"Oh, she's this total stuck-up bitch who's had it in for Miley and me for years now," Lilly said.

"She jealous? Of how you two love each other, I mean?"

"That's what several people have said," Miley said, "but she was mean to us a long time before we even started thinking of each other that way. What has us worried about her this time is that she thinks that I'm really Hannah Montana and that Lilly's really Lola Luftnagle."

Luanne paled slightly. "Yeeeah, I can see why that might be a problem," she said. "So you want me to stand in for Hannah while you prove her wrong?"

"How'd you know we wanted you to stand in for Hannah and not Miley?" Lilly asked.

Luanne smiled as she got back to her feet. She walked over to Lilly and gently touched the tip of Lilly's nose with the tip of her right index finger. "Because you wouldn't want anyone else holding you like Miley does. Just like you wouldn't feel right holding anyone that way except for Miley." Luanne smiled her knowing smile, then she added, "Plus my haircut _would_ make it a bit hard to fill in for my sis here."

Lilly looked at Miley. "Oh, she is _good_, girlfriend," she said with a smile.

"Yup, she is," Miley answered with a matching smile. "And this time, she's on our side."

"Let Amber beware!" Lilly said happily.

After staying up another hour talking, the girls finally succumbed to the fatigue creeping up their bodies and went to bed. Miley and Lilly obviously slept in their bed, while Luanne slept on the couch downstairs. Miley and Lilly had promised that they'd behave themselves, but Luanne felt like she'd be intruding on their private space by staying in their bedroom with them. She needed to find her own space. While spending time with her sister and sister-in-law was now an important part of her life, there was no doubt in Luanne's mind that her time with them had to have limits.

It would be easy, so easy, to move right into their wonderful life and be part of the family. Of that Luanne had no doubt; in fact, she knew Miley and Lilly would gladly welcome her as their sister. But by doing that Luanne would be turning away from finding out who she really was. _The most important part of a quest is the journey, not the destination._ She had read that somewhere over the last year, and she had come to realize how much truth was hidden in that statement. Miley and Lilly had what appeared to be wonderful, happy lives ahead of them, but they had made those lives for themselves. It now lay before Luanne to do the same. Getting to know her sister and sister-in-law was going to be a vital part of the discovery of her true self, but it had to be only a part of her journey, not the final destination.

_And they know that._ The thought slipped out of Luanne's consciousness as she teetered on the edge of sleep, resonating throughout her mind as she pulled back from the brink of slumber to further consider that thought._ They want to give me my space while making sure I know I'm always welcome._ Before this last year, Luanne considered tears to be a sign of weakness, a reminder of her childhood nights of terror. But now she realized they were only an expression of emotions, no different than laughing or frowning. When tears came to her now, she took a moment to consider what the underlying emotions behind them were, then she could try to respond appropriately. But as she silently cried in the dark of the living room that could have been hers, she found so many emotions that it was impossible to catalog them all. Happiness. Sadness. Regret. Joy. Hope. Fear. Gratitude. Love. Most glaring, however, was the absence of one particular emotion: anger. Much of the therapy that Luanne had been through focused on her anger. At one time, anger was all Luanne thought she had left. But she had slowly realized that was a lie. The truth was that anger was all she had _allowed_ herself.

She quietly stood up and made her way to the stairs. A night light gave her enough visibility to climb the stairs and find her way to the door to Miley and Lilly's room. She opened the door as silently as she could and crept into the room. As she looked at the couple asleep on the bed, a sliver of moonlight cast a pale glow over part of the bed. Luanne walked over to stand beside the bed and looked down at the faces of Miley and Lilly. Even asleep, happiness was evident on their faces. Miley smiled in her sleep, her arms wrapped around Lilly, whose head rested on Miley's left shoulder. Lilly's left arm was across Miley's chest, her hand lost amidst Miley's curls of hair. Lilly's nose was nearly touching Miley's cheek, and as Luanne watched she saw that their chests rose and fell in time with each other.

_They're perfect for each other. In every way._ She leaned over the bed, drying her tears first so they wouldn't fall and disturb the girls' sleep. She very, very lightly placed a kiss on the forehead of first Miley, then Lilly. "Thank you," she whispered quietly as she ran her right hand delicately over both girls' heads where they were touching. "Thank you for saving me from myself." She stood and retreated from the room, silently closing the door behind her.

Miley woke slowly, relishing the feel of Lilly's fingers over her ribs as she slipped back into consciousness. It was still dark outside, and she turned her head to check the alarm clock. _Five-fifty-nine. I beat the alarm by one minute._ She placed a kiss on Lilly's face as she slid out from underneath Lilly's sleepy embrace.

"It's too early, Miles," Lilly mumbled as Miley slid the switch on the clock, stopping the alarm before it could ring.

"We need to get up early, Lilly Bear," Miley said as she got to her hands and knees and planted several light kisses on Lilly's forehead, cheeks and nose. Lilly giggled at Miley's show of affection, saying, "That tickles!"

"Do you want me stop?" Miley asked playfully.

"Heck no!" Lilly responded emphatically. "Tickle away, my dear."

Miley obliged Lilly with a few more kisses, then she got up. "I'm going to start the shower, hon."

Lilly sighed as she rolled out of the bed and rose to her feet. "Okay," she said as she stretched and yawned loudly. By now their morning routine was automatic for both girls, and within forty minutes they had brushed, showered, soaped, shampooed and shaved. As they were getting dressed, a knock came from their door.

"Hey, can I come in?" Luanne asked.

"Sure," Lilly said as she slid a light green long-sleeve shirt over her head to go with her khaki cargo pants. As Luanne came in, Lilly saw she was still wearing her pajamas. "You need to take a quick shower, Luanne?"

"Yeah, I really do. Do we have time?"

Miley appeared from deep within the closet. "Girl, you're gonna be Hannah Montana today! You've got all the time you want." She pointed to the bathroom. "Shower's that way, and we didn't run all the hot water out as far as I know."

"Okay," Luanne said with a faint smile, then she slipped inside the bathroom.

Lilly turned to look at Miley, who was wearing a purple tank top over a white long-sleeved t-shirt and lavender capri pants. "Wow, you look cute today!"

"Thanks," Miley said with a grin. "I wanted something I could change in and out of fast."

"Good thinking. You picked what Hannah's going to wear today?"

"Yeah. I'll have Luanne take some of her own clothes to change into while I'm singing. That way you're not by yourself if Amber tries to start something when we're separated."

Lilly took Miley's hand and looked into her bright blue eyes. "Miles, you're going to be less than thirty feet away from me the whole time. But I get what you're saying."

Miley smiled. "Maybe you should stay in Hannah's dressing room while I'm performing? I could tell everyone that Miley got sick and you were staying with her until she got to feeling better."

"That's not a bad idea," Lilly said. "Except for one little detail."

"You don't get to watch me perform?"

"Bingo." Lilly sat on the bed, all made up now. "I hate not seeing you perform."

Miley frowned as she sat down beside Lilly on the bed. "Well, Luanne can't pass for me right now, so that limits our options."

"Well, as much as I love Luanne, I couldn't act like she was you anyway, Miles. I just couldn't hug her and hold her hand like it was you. I'm pretty sure people would be able to tell I was faking that."

Luanne opened the bathroom door and came back into the bedroom, her bra and panties already on. "Whoo!" she said loudly as she ran her hand through her short hair. "That felt just right!" She saw Miley and Lilly sitting on the bed and smiled. "Okay, so am I Hannah this morning?" she said.

"Yup," Miley said. "When you get in the dressing room they're using, Lilly and I will join you, and you and me'll switch out so I can sing. Once the show's finished, then we switch one more time."

Luanne said, "Sounds like a plan. So what kick-ass clothes do I get to wear today?"

Miley and Lilly both stood and escorted her to the Hannah closet. "Time to get you Hannah'd up!" Miley exclaimed as they began digging through the racks of clothes.

Thirty or forty minutes later, Miley and Lilly were on their way to school in their car. Miley was driving this morning, and Lilly was singing along to the radio. Her singing had improved further, and Miley had gotten to where she enjoyed hearing Lilly sing simply because of the joy that came through when it was just the two of them singing. Around others Lilly still tended to get more nervous and not sing as well, but with Miley she could relax, because she already knew what Miley thought about her.

As they parked their car in their parking place, they saw Oliver walking past them. He waved and stopped, waiting on them to get out of their car. "Hey, ladies," Oliver said politely as they got out of the Roadster.

"Morning Oliver!" Lilly said cheerfully, then her smile faded as she saw how sad he looked. "What's wrong?"

At Lilly's question, Miley straightened up and took a long look at Oliver as well. He did appear sadder than he had been lately, and that probably meant one thing. "Oh, Oliver, I'm sorry," Miley said, guessing that his talk with Lindsey hadn't gone the way he had planned it.

Oliver rushed over and hugged Lilly, who gladly returned the embrace, holding Oliver as she whispered, "Shh, it's okay, Oliver. It just wasn't meant to be."

Miley hurried around the car and hugged Oliver as well. "Oliver, sometimes things just don't work out. Both you and her are still in school, and that distance is just too much to overcome."

His voice breaking, Oliver said, "Yeah, that's what she said, pretty much. And I believe her. She was crying while we were talking, and she said that I was a wonderful person and that if she had been able to stay that she thought we'd have been together a long time."

Miley looked over at Lilly and the two of them shared a knowing look. Nearly a month ago Lilly had told Miley she was afraid that Oliver and Lindsey weren't going to overcome the distance. Miley had also shared her fears, but the two of them realized that only Oliver and Lindsey could make the final decision. Until then, they had decided to do everything they could to give the two of them to opportunity to make things work. But now the time had come, and both Miley and Lilly felt altogether helpless as they watched Oliver work his way through this.

"I knew this was coming," Oliver said. "And I think she did too, just neither of us wanted to believe it."

Lilly put a smile on her face as she said, "Oliver, you're going to get through this. We know you will. Miley and I have both been there, and we made it through with each other's help and with your help. The right person for you is out there somewhere."

Miley looked at Oliver and then jerked her head toward Lilly as she said, "And sometimes that right person is closer than you realize."

"Hi!" The three of them turned to see Ashley standing next to them, smiling until she got a look at Oliver's face. "Oh, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Oliver and Lindsey broke up," Miley said. "Nothing either of them did, it was just too hard to make a long-distance relationship work."

"Oliver, I'm so sorry," Ashley said as she also offered him a hug, which he accepted after a second of indecision. "I never really knew her, but the two of you seemed happy together when I saw you with her." After several seconds, they pulled apart.

"Thank you," Oliver said to Ashley, then he turned to Miley and Lilly and said, "And thank you two, too. I know you'll always be there for me. You always have been." He looked at his watch. "Uh oh, it's almost eight. We gotta hurry!" The four of them set off for the school building at a brisk walk.

The abbreviated school day seemed to race by, and soon it was already eleven o'clock. Miley and Lilly were getting their books for chemistry when Amber confronted them at their locker.

"So when are you going to disappear and change for the concert, Stewart?" Amber asked with a smug grin. "I've got my cell phone all ready to record you, wherever you go this period."

"Record away, Amber," Miley said with a smile. "You'll just get me talking to Lilly during chem class."

Lilly looked to Miley and said, "Well, just that would increase her phone's IQ by about ten points!" The girls laughed at that comment until Amber slammed the heel of her hand against the locker next to theirs, making Miley, Lilly and everyone around them jump.

"What is _YOUR PROBLEM_?" Miley yelled in Amber's face. "If you keep stalking us or whatever you wanna call it, all you're gonna get is expelled, which would suit us just fine!" With a quieter voice, she added, "And if you treat Hannah Montana the way you're treating us, you'll wind up in jail. Now step back and let my girlfriend and me get to our class, or you're gonna get more of me than you can handle!"

Lilly had rarely seen Miley so angry and ready to fight, and every time it had been over some threat to one of them. This time, Lilly wasn't sure about whether to restrain Miley or not. While getting into a fight with Amber would land all of them in trouble, there was no doubt that Amber had a sound beating coming her way. Lilly also had no doubt at the outcome of such a fight. While Miley didn't look as strong as Amber did, her physical condition had improved nicely over the last eighteen months, plus Miley's temper was profound once it was finally freed, and for Lilly she'd fight to win at all costs. However, Amber removed the need for Lilly to say anything when she stepped back from the two of them.

"You just wait, Stewart," Amber said as she walked backwards. "Before the day is over, I'll--"

Amber's threat was cut short by shrieks going through the hallways. Ashley ran over to Miley and Lilly and squealed, "It's Hannah Montana! She's here!"

"Really?" Lilly said, quick to seize the opportunity. "Where?"

"Right down the hall! She's coming this way!" Ashley grabbed Lilly and Miley each by a hand and pulled them through the lockers to where a crowd was gathering. "Move it, people!" she said loudly, clearing a path for the three of them stand and look down the hall.

Lilly softly said, "Wow, she has got it down cold," to Miley, getting an appreciative nod in reply to the deeper meaning of that statement only the two of them caught. Luanne and Principal Young were walking toward them with Roxy in close proximity and several other people trailing behind. While not possessing the natural charisma that Miley exuded, Luanne had the smile, the walk, the talk and the hair to be Hannah Montana. They had worked on that some the night before, and Luanne's sharp intelligence made her a very fast study. As Luanne reached them, she looked at Miley and Lilly and winkedbriefly as she walked by. The retinue passed, heading on to the gymnasium.

Miley turned to look at Amber, who looked like she had seen a ghost. Or maybe two. "Still wanting to video me today?" she asked sarcastically. "Or are you finally gonna admit you're just plain nuts?"

Amber fumed silently for a few seconds, then she turned and stomped off, eliciting laughs from Miley, Lilly and Ashley. "Did you see her face?" Ashley said. "Wow, she was _totally_ wrong!"

"Totally," Lilly and Miley both echoed in unison. They briefly looked at each other, each thinking the same thing: _It's still not over yet. Amber won't give up that easily._ But then the tardy bell rung, triggering a near stampede as the students clogging the halls immediately tried to race to class. After a minute, the hallways were empty except for echoes of doors slamming and a few sheets of paper fluttering to the ground.

**Author's Afterword:** I took an extra day trying to decide whether or not to include the concert in this chapter or not. I finally decided to just take it to the next chapter rather than postpone this chapter even longer to finish it or turn it out in what I think is a rough finish. Hope no one minds, really, but I promise it'll be worth moving it to the next update. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing; I've been impressed and humbled by how sweet the Liley community is here on FFNet. I suppose that's because we're all believers in love at heart, with Lilly and Miley perhaps the greatest believers of all. See you with the next chapter in a few days!

-- Jo --


	4. Chapter 4: The Big Payback

**Author's Note: **Thanks to everyone for the very sweet reviews so far! I promise, you'll all be pleased by the time this story is over. This chapter gives us the mini-concert and the climax with Amber's meddling. After this, things really pick up speed as we hit the two big events!

For my list of disclaimers, please see Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. Also, please exercise some common sense when reading this or any other story. _If you don't like it, then stop reading it!_

**As I Am, I Take Thee **

by Jo P.

Chapter 4: The Big Payback

_Like Transformers, girl,_

_There's more than meets the eye_

--Velvet Revolver;"Get Out the Door"

American Lit seemed to drag on for hours instead of minutes. The lack of an impending quiz made it quite difficult for Miley to motivate herself regarding any reading at the moment. Lilly, however, seemed to find something rather interesting to read in her textbook, which amazed Miley. When about fifteen minutes remained in class, a runner came to the classroom and spoke briefly with the teacher, Mr. Ken Harris.

"Miley and Lilly!" Mr. Harris said firmly, startling a few people who had been engrossed in their readings. "Come here, please."

Miley looked at Lilly. They each stood and walked quickly to his desk.

"You two are needed in the main office. Get your things and go ahead," he said.

With shared smiles, Miley and Lilly quickly got their books and purses and made their way out the door. As they walked down the hall to the office, Lilly said, "This is going to be great." She turned to look at Miley. "You really think Amber's going to risk getting herself expelled?"

Miley glanced back at Lilly. "You kidding me?" she said with disbelief. "As far gone as she is, I think Amber's gonna go down in flames this time."

Lilly frowned. "Well," she said finally, "she's doing it to herself. We're not making her do anything."

Miley stopped suddenly. Lilly was three steps down the hall before she likewise stopped; she then turned and quickly strode back to Miley's side. "Oh, no!" Miley said as Lilly stood beside her. She gently reached up and placed her right hand on the side of Lilly's head, running her fingers through Lilly's hair one time before settling her hand against Lilly's cheek. "You are _not_ going to feel guilty about any of this, Lilly." She lowered her voice, then continued. "If we didn't do anything, then eventually Amber would get lucky, and then our secret would be out, and what would that get us?" Lilly glanced away briefly, then she looked back, connecting with Miley's gaze. "It'd get us complete craziness for the rest of our lives. We'd never have any time to just be us again, where we could go to the beach, or hang out, or go shopping in peace." She smiled as she looked at Lilly. _Oh, Lilly, I love you so, so much_. "And when we add to our family, our children would never have any peace either. Look at how crazy everyone is over Tom Cruise's daughter. Or poor Britney and her kids. Do we want that for our children?"

"No," Lilly said softly. "But some of that's going to happen anyway. I mean, we're probably still going to be in the spotlight for a while, Miley."

"Right, but now we can choose _when_ to be in it and when not to be in it. That's what we're fighting for, Lilly. Our private time. As a family." She paused, looking deeply into Lilly's caring blue eyes. "I'm not letting Amber take that from us. And I know you're not going to let her either."

Lilly smiled again. "No, I'm not," she said. "I just hope Amber knows what she's going to do to herself."

As they reached the office, Miley softly said to Lilly, "Whether she knows it or not, she's going to have to live with whatever she does."

Lilly opened the door to the main office, letting Miley walk in first. As they entered, Ms. Keller, the school secretary, looked up and said, "Oh girls, you're here! Have a seat and I'll call Ms. Montana's security and have them escort you to her dressing room."

Miley and Lilly looked at each other and grinned. The "dressing room" was one of the classrooms adjacent to the gym, where a small amount of furniture had been moved in by the Hannah crew for today. The classroom being used was one of the larger multipurpose classrooms, and it had its own bathroom inside. After a few minutes, Roxy came into the main office and smiled at Miley and Lilly, giving them a sly wink when she was turned so Ms. Keller couldn't see her eyes. "Alright little ladies, you two just come with me!" Roxy said cheerily. Miley and Lilly dutifully stood and followed Roxy out of the office and down the hall toward the gym.

As they went down the hall, the bell dismissing the current period rang, and chaos followed it closely. Today that bell meant that classes were over and the students were dismissed to assemble in the gym. Within seconds students were hurrying down the halls, jockeying for prime position inside the gymnasium where Hannah's smaller stage had been set up.

As Miley, Lilly and Roxy entered the gym, a general roar rose up as Luanne, still dressed as Hannah, stepped onto the stage and waved to the student body. "Hey everybody!" she said loudly, eliciting even louder cheering. "The concert's gonna start in just a few minutes, but first I have to care of something real quick. Be right back!" She waved as she stepped off the stage and began walking toward the dressing room that Miley, Lilly and Roxy had just arrived at.

Suddenly, Amber appeared at the edge of the crowd, a look of pure hatred in her eyes as she locked gazes with Miley. "You haven't gotten away with this yet, Stewart!" she yelled. "You're gonna screw up this time, and I'm gonna be the one who catches you!"

"That's her, Roxy," Miley said to her bodyguard. "That's Amber."

"Boy, she does sound crazy," Roxy said as she assessed this new threat. "You think she's got something up her sleeve?"

Lilly crossed her arms and looked long and hard at Amber. "We better assume she does," she said finally. "But she might just be planning on trying to hurt Miley or me. Not that that's much better."

"Well, you just let ol' Roxy handle that one," said Roxy as she opened the door to the dressing room for Miley and Lilly, escorting them in as she continued to watch Amber. In less than a minute, Luanne had reached the dressing room, and Roxy closed the door after stepping aside to let Luanne pass.

"Wow, was that loudmouth out there Amber?" Luanne said as she sat down on the soft pink Hannah chair moved into the room for the concert today.

"Oh yeah," Lilly said with a grimace. She looked over to the bathroom, where Miley's pants came flying out the door and landed on the classroom floor. "No rush, sweetheart," she called out to Miley, who was furiously changing clothes inside the bathroom.

Luanne shivered momentarily. "She's dangerous," she said to Lilly, the low tone of her voice adding weight to her analysis. "She reminds me of... of who I used to be. Someone who's so far gone that she's willing to do whatever it takes to prove herself right."

"Well, it ain't gonna happen today." Everyone turned to look as Hannah, not Miley, stepped out of the bathroom. Her outfit was an exact duplicate of Luanne's, an extra precaution the girls had taken today in case Amber made a move so quickly that Miley and Luanne wouldn't have time to exchange clothes. She stopped by Lilly, who looked at her with a grin on her face.

"Is my fiancée still in the bathroom sick?" Lilly asked teasingly.

Miley nodded, a similar mischievous smile on her face as she answered, "Yeah, I think meeting a real celebrity made her nervous or something."

Lilly closed the remaining distance between the two of them as she slipped her arms around Miley's waist. "Well, don't tell her about this," she said as she kissed Miley warmly.

After a few seconds, they broke the kiss. "I think I already know about your crush on Hannah Montana," Miley said with a laugh.

"Yeah, good thing she and Lola are understanding about it!" Lilly said, getting a laugh from Luanne but not from Roxy. "Okay Hannah, go out and rock out," she said as she released Miley and gently pushed her toward the door. "I'll stay here and keep an eye on my poor sweetie with the nervous tummy," she added with a baby pout at the end of her sentence.

"Thank you for staying in here," Miley said, pausing with her hand resting on the door handle. "That's one less thing I have to worry about now that you're going to be safe in here."

"I know," Lilly said with a smile. "Just don't do too many encores without me!"

"I won't," Miley promised. "I'll give the school a good show, then I'll hurry back here to make sure you're okay. Roxy'll take good care of me out there." She gave a wave, then she and Roxy were gone, the door closing behind them.

Lilly sat down on the yellow puffy couch that had also been brought in by Hannah's crew for the show. "Man, I wish I could see the show," she said dejectedly. "But as soon as Amber saw me out there, she'd know something was up."

Luanne came over and sat on the opposite end of the couch from Lilly. "Because she knows you'd never leave Miley while she was sick," she said knowingly.

Lilly nodded. "Yeah."

"Then don't."

Lilly looked up at Luanne, who was smiling. "Say what?"

Luanne pointed to the door. "Watch her from right there, silly. I'll stay here in case Amber tries to pull something with you."

Lilly stood, then turned around to look back at Luanne. "But, um, you can't pass for Miley now. Not with your hair as short as it is."

Luanne grinned. "That, my dear soon-to-be sister-in-law, _that_ remains to be seen."

As Miley started the concert, Lilly had to admit that Luanne did indeed have a good idea. She had a good view of the stage from the side, which is what she was used to seeing anyway, even if she was farther away than she normally stood during Hannah concerts. But she could see Miley, which was really all she was interested in to begin with. Yeah, it would have been nice to be out there with their friends dancing and singing to the songs, but it probably was safer to avoid that situation. There would just be too many chances for her to get caught up in the moment and let something slip out she shouldn't.

True to form, Miley burned up the concert. She started by telling the crowd that Lola couldn't be there today, but that she had sent her best wishes to the school and to Miley and Lilly. Miley then led off with "Start All Over," one of her favorite songs, getting everyone excited and dancing. Her next two songs were "Nobody's Perfect" and then her cover of U2's "Ultraviolet," from the album of love songs she had done for Lilly last Christmas. They had indeed released that album, at Lilly's insistence, in early February. As with all Hannah's albums, it shot to Number One for its debut, where it stayed for eight weeks and was still in the Top 10 nearly a year later. With that album's debut, Hannah Montana also became the first artist in the history of the Billboard system to have four consecutive albums in the Top 100 at once. However, she had gone a step further, as all four albums were in the Top 50 for months. Even now her first album still held solidly in the Top 100, firmly establishing her as one of the most successful pop artists ever—at the age of seventeen.

As Lilly listened to the singing of her best friend and partner, she found herself getting caught up in the music and tuning out things around her. Consequently, she was so surprised that she nearly fell when she heard Amber's cold voice behind her. "Oh, this is too good!"

Lilly gasped and gripped the door handle more tightly to keep from falling as she stumbled. She heard Luanne call out from inside the room, but Lilly regained her footing as she turned around and steeled herself. "What do you want, Amber?" Lilly said, her voice cold.

"Oh, I think you know what I want, Truscott," Amber said as she held her cellphone up, recording Lilly blocking the doorway. "I want to show everyone that your little dyke isn't in here with you like everyone thinks, because she's really out there on that stage!"

"Back off, Amber!" Lilly said, obstructing the doorway. "Miley is sick, and she doesn't need to put up with your shit right now!" She went to slam the door in Amber's face, but Amber's arm shot out and blocked the door, keeping it from closing.

"What is it you're not wanting me to see in here, Truscott?" Amber said, her grin positively evil in its smugness. She braced her legs and shoved the door open, forcing Lilly backwards as she walked into the room. "Is your little girlfriend not—" She stopped in mid-sentence, making Lilly spin to see what damning evidence Amber had seen.

Lilly was as surprised as Amber when she turned and saw Luanne lying on the couch, her body completely covered by a large blanket and her hair wrapped in a large towel, completely hiding Hannah's wig and clothes.

"Lilly, what's going on?" Luanne said weakly, doing a good job of acting sick. As her eyes locked onto Amber, Luanne felt a surge of anger build in her. _Not now_, she told herself. _This one deserves every bit of it, but I have to protect Miley's and Lilly's secret_. "Amber. Decided to try your luck while I'm sick?" Luanne didn't bother to try and hide the venom in her voice as she spoke.

"Stewart?" Amber said, her voice suddenly lacking in conviction. "But.. How are you in here, when you're supposed to be--"

"When I'm supposed to be Hannah Montana?" Luanne said angrily. "Because I'm _NOT_ Hannah Montana, you stupid bitch!" She held her position on the couch, carefully concealing what was hidden underneath the blanket and towel, but right then Luanne wanted nothing more than to soundly thrash Amber.

Lilly finally recovered her voice and stepped back in front of Amber, interposing herself between Amber and Luanne. "Okay Amber, are you happy now? You've got your proof that neither Miley or me is Hannah Montana, now _get out_!" She held up her own cell phone and flipped it open. "I'm calling the front office right now, and I'm telling them you're back here threatening us. Hopefully they'll arrest you at the same time they expel you!" Before she could hit the first digit, Amber spun and rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Lilly turned to look at Luanne. "Okay, that was too close," she said as she fell onto the couch, relief evident on her face.

On stage, Miley felt her stomach suddenly grow queasy, but she masterfully hid that while performing. She did take a glance down the corridor toward the dressing room, though, and she saw Amber storming out of the room, a look of hatred on her face as she bolted the other way down the hall. Immediately afterward, Miley saw Lilly step out of the room and flash her a thumbs-up sign, instantly quelling the anxiety surging through her body. Now relieved, Miley refocused her energy on her performance, doing several more songs for the excited crowd before finally bringing the mini-concert to an end. "Okay Seaview, you've all been great! I'm going to leave several free passes for some upcoming concerts with the main office, so keep up your good grades and good behavior so you can earn one! Love you all!" She began waving to the crowd, then she added, "And congratulations to Miley Stewart and Lilly Truscott on getting married this weekend! Like I said at the start of the concert, Miley was feeling a bit sick, so she and Lilly had to sit this one out back in my dressing room, but I know they could hear all of you!"

As the crowd applauded and cheered, Miley stepped down off the stage and began walking back to the dressing room, where Lilly was still standing in the doorway cheering. Suddenly Lilly pointed past Miley and yelled, "Hannah, look out!" Miley spun to see Amber coming toward her at a run. Somehow she had gotten between Miley and Roxy, and it appeared from the look in Amber's eyes that this time she wasn't interested in trying to prove anything other than how badly she could hurt them. Miley broke into a run, moving as fast as her boots would let her. "Hurry! Hurry!" Lilly yelled, adding more urgency to Miley's sprint

Despite her exertion, Amber felt her lips curl into a feral smile. She might not catch Hannah Montana before she made it to the dressing room, but she was close, too close for Lilly to close the door behind Hannah in time to keep Amber out. She could hear Hannah's bodyguard's heavy footsteps behind her, but Amber had run track her freshman year, and she was still fast in a sprint.

She saw Hannah reach the door and run into Truscott; it looks like Truscott absorbed some of the impact of them colliding as she pulled Hannah inside, but that took both of them out of the doorway. Now there was no chance of them closing the door and keeping her out. Amber swung wide, then turned into the doorway. But suddenly she was met by a furious blonde-haired blur that slammed into her hard enough to negate all of Amber's momentum and propel both of them across the hall into the wall on the other side.

Miley was in the dressing room trying to catch her breath as Lilly dragged her to the bathroom. "Miles, get changed now!" she hissed quietly. "Hurry! We can't have two Hannahs in the same place at the same time!" Miley nodded as she hurried into the bathroom, where she found her clothes folded and waiting on her. Lilly turned to assess the fight outside, but she already knew how it was going to end. _I just hope Luanne doesn't hurt her too badly. Well, not TOO too badly_, she mentally corrected. She moved to the doorway, where she saw Luanne turn and slam Amber face first into the wall, rattling her teeth.

"You are crazy!" Luanne yelled loudly as she then threw Amber to the floor. "And crazy people," she said as she straddled Amber's thrashing form," need _HELP_!" She soundly punched Amber in the jaw, stunning the taller girl momentarily as Luanne landed another solid punch, this time with her left hand. Amber twisted and shoved Luanne to the side, but Luanne was able to brace her legs against the wall and launch herself up into Amber's stomach as Amber stood, knocking the breath out of the taller girl and stopped her from grabbing a handful of hair. Before Amber could catch her breath, Luanne landed a withering uppercut, sending a small spurt of blood into the air from Amber's now bloody mouth. She then grabbed Amber's shirt and spun again, throwing her fiercely against the wall with a resounding smack. Luanne paused to catch her breath as Amber crumpled to the floor.

Suddenly Luanne was abruptly picked up and held two feet off the ground as Roxy finally reached the scuffle. Hot on her heels were two security officers and Mr. Young, the principal. As they struggled to get a grip on Amber, she leapt to her feet and swung a punch at Luanne, but it never connected. Roxy simply rotated and caught the blow on her back without so much as a flinch. She set Luanne down and turned to subdue Amber, but the school security officers had already pinned her arms behind her back and were lowering her to the ground.

Mr. Young's face wore an expression of pure horror as he looked at Roxy and Hannah, then at Lilly and Miley, who had just joined her partner in the hallway. He turned back to Luanne and said, "Oh, Ms. Montana, I am so, so sorry! Are you alright?" Luanne gave him a curt nod of her head, prompting him to turn back to look at Amber as he continued. "We had some warning that Ms. Adkins might try to cause trouble today, but we suspected she would try to do something to either Ms. Truscott or Ms. Stewart here, not to you!"

Luanne hotly looked back at him and said, "How did she get past security?"

"I truly don't know," Mr. Young said nervously. "Are any of you young ladies hurt?"

Luanne shrugged in Amber's direction. "Well, _she's_ hurt, but I'm not she qualifies as a young lady." She looked at herself, then at Miley and Lilly. "I think we're all okay."

Lilly spoke up at that point. "Well, she got back to the dressing room earlier, because she charged in while Miley was on the couch, trying to recover from throwing up earlier. I got her to leave when I told her I was calling the front office to send security out here, but I never did once she left." Lilly looked down. "So I guess this is partly my fault. I should have called."

"Hey," Miley said as she put her arms around Lilly, tipping her fiancée's head up so she could look into her deep blue eyes. "Not a bit of this is your fault. It was Amber's. Maybe now something will be done about her threatening and attacking us permanently," she said, giving Mr. Young an angry Look.

The principal glanced away from Miley's Look. "I think we have definitely reached that point, Ms. Stewart. I offer you and Ms. Truscott my apologies for what Ms. Adkins has put you through." He turned to Luanne and Roxy next. "And Ms. Montana, I offer you my deepest apologies as well. I was a direct witness to you defending yourself as well as Ms. Stewart and Ms. Truscott. I assure all of you, Ms. Adkins will be dealt with swiftly and surely."

"She needs help of some kind," Luanne said. "I mean, she acts like she's gone over the edge."

Mr. Young weakly smiled at Luanne as she said, "Ms. Montana, I think a psychiatric evaluation will certainly be part of her arrest and detention for assault on you and your bodyguard. Are you both okay?"

Roxy smiled as she grabbed Miley, Lilly and Luanne all in her wide embrace, squeezing them all tightly. "I think they're all just fine, Mr. Principal," she said. She looked at Luanne as she added, "Plus I think that Adkins girl learned that Hannah Montana has a bit more fire in her than she had planned on!"

**Author's Afterword:** Yes, it's a bit shorter than my usual chapters, but the next chapter moves us into the main events, and I needed a solid divider between the pre-Thanksgiving concert and the post-Thanksgiving nuptials. There were a few grammatical errors in some of the characters' dialogue, but they're there because that's how I felt those particular characters would say what they did. I again apologize for this being a day later than my usual posting, but I was sick over the weekend and needed just a bit more time to get the words out. I know several of you wanted Amber to get a much more severe comeuppance, but taking things much farther didn't feel right with the rest of the story or with Miley and Lilly (who really are kind young ladies). I hope you can understand where I'm coming from in regards to that point. See you quite soon, and bring your wedding best for the next two chapters!

-- Jo --


	5. Chapter 5: United

**Author's Note: **Thanks to everyone for the great reviews! Ready for a wedding? I know Miley and Lilly are...

For my list of disclaimers, please see Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. Also, please exercise some common sense when reading this or any other story. _If you don't like it, then stop reading it!_

**As I Am, I Take Thee **

by Jo P.

Chapter 5: United

_Face to face, eye to eye_

_You're standing there_

_Feels good on the inside_

_I don't mind, I don't care_

_You're standing there_

_Seeing me for the first time_

_Seeing me for the first time_

--Hannah Montana;"As I Am"

As the morning sun climbed into the sky on Friday morning, Lilly felt the warmth of the sun on her face and the warmth of Miley on her body. She blinked her eyes open and saw that they were in their room at Lilly's parents' house. They had stayed up late last night watching movies, and apparently they had made their way to the bedroom sometime during the night.

Last year's Thanksgiving on the beach had been so much fun that their families had decided to do it again this year. Luanne in particular seemed to have a great time, and Lilly and Miley both had noticed how smitten Lilly's brother Ron had been with Luanne. _Particularly when she took off her shirt and shorts and showed off her new blue bikini_, Lilly thought with a smirk. _That girl has done some serious working out!_ Maybe it'd be good for her brother to chase Luanne. Heaven knows he seemed much more into his music and electronic gadgets than he did in girls. Showing a bit of interest in someone besides Miley might help him break out of his shell.

_Speaking of the woman I love..._ Lilly turned her head slightly to look at Miley's face, soft and tender in slumber. In a little over a day, they would be legally married, the next big step in their relationship and one both of them had wanted for nearly two years now. As Lilly looked, Miley's smile grew ever so slightly, then she gently pulled on Lilly's chest, snuggling closer to her lover. That put a smile on Lilly's face as well, as the warmth conducting across the two of them rose just a touch.

_Well, all we've got left to do today is to finish packing for the trip and then fly out of here._ "Miles?" Lilly said softly, gently nudging the warm body lying next to her. "C'mon Miles, we have to get up. We have to get ready, because we need to be at the airport in two hours."

Miley mumbled something that sounded like a complaint, prompting Lilly to whisper something in her lover's ear, then to lightly give it a teasing lick with the tip of her tongue. Instantly Miley sat up, narrowly missing Lilly's head in her haste. "Are you serious?" Miley said excitedly.

Lilly nodded, a naughty grin on her face. "But--" she said quickly, "only if you hurry and get ready." In a flash Miley had thrown off the covers and was running to the bathroom, not even bothering to cover her naked body as she ran out of the room. _Well, at least I know how to motivate her_, Lilly thought, quite pleased with herself as she got up and picked out bras and panties for them to wear today, finally making her own way down the hall to the bathroom.

As Lilly stepped into the bathroom, the warmth of the steam coming from their shower sent a pleasant shiver across her body. She tossed the underclothes onto the counter and eased the shower curtain back just enough to step into the shower. As she turned forward, she saw Miley standing under the water's spray, rivulets of water running down her chest as she finished wetting her hair, its long, dark strands for the moment clinging together as they fell down her back. As Lilly took in her lover's natural beauty, Miley's eyes opened and the brilliant blueness of her gaze fixed squarely on Lilly. The hunger in Miley's eyes was evident and intense, and without conscious thought Lilly stepped forward until Miley's arms wrapped around her torso, pulling her into the hot water's spray and Miley's own warmth. Reflexively Lilly closed her eyes and ducked her head to shield her contact lenses using Miley's head as shelter.

"Hey," Miley said softly as she gently led Lilly a step away from the shower's spray. "You don't wear your contacts anymore, remember?" she said as she kissed Lilly's lips softly.

Lilly blinked her eyes open in surprise. "Oh yeah!" she said with a slight laugh. "Sorry, I wore them for so long, it's going to take some time getting used to not needing them." Miley had paid for Lilly to have corrective surgery on her eyes just two weeks ago as an early birthday present. Lilly had been reluctant to have the surgery done for several months, but finally the approaching wedding and the subsequent honeymoon had given her enough impetus to proceed. She had been surprised at how quickly the actual LASIK procedure had been carried out, and her recovery was definitely pleasurable, as Miley had held her for most of the next twenty-four hours. That was the period of time during which she was to keep her eyes closed unless absolutely necessary, and the two girls had sat around and watched movies (or listened to them, in Lilly's case) that they both knew by heart. Her eyes would continue to heal over the next three months, then she'd be able to play sports again in the spring.

Lilly blinked, now enjoying the feeling of the light spray of water across her eyes. "Thank you for my eyes, Miley," she said as she kissed Miley. "It's so nice to not have to fool with my contacts or my glasses anymore."

"You're welcome, Lilly Bear," Miley said, smiling as she ran her hands through Lilly's blonde hair, slowly collecting moisture from the shower's spray. Miley turned the two of them in the shower, gently directing Lilly's hair under the stream of water to wet it thoroughly. As Lilly's tipped her head back to get all of her hair wet, Miley's right hand drifted lower until it found its target, eliciting a soft gasp from Lilly at the electric sensation of her lover's touch.

"Mmmm, got something on your mind, Miles?" Lilly sensuously asked as a smile of pleasure floated onto her face. She held Miley's body tightly but let Miley's right arm slip free slightly as Lilly shifted her legs, making Miley's access easier for both of them. Lilly positively purred as Miley's fingers sent surges of pleasure throughout Lilly's body until her orgasm overtook her suddenly, leaving her gasping as her body jerked several times. Lilly had snaked her arms around Miley's chest and reached back up to grip Miley's shoulders on both sides, and now she hung on fiercely as she rode out the intense orgasm Miley had sent her off on.

As Miley felt Lilly shiver at the onset of her orgasm, Miley tightened her grip with her left arm, holding Lilly securely as she helped her lover ride out the waves of their passion. As Lilly shook, Miley softly whispered, "I love you, Lilly. I love you so much," her own eyes tearing up at the intimacy and intensity of their contact.

As Lilly slowly regained conscious thought, she went from panting to purring again as she straightened up and nuzzled Miley's neck. "Love you too, Miles, especially when you do _that_ to me," she said with a smile. She gave Miley a deep, passion-filled kiss, then she settled to her knees. "Now," she said as she gently but firmly pushed Miley back against the wall of the shower, "it's my turn."

A little over an hour later, Miley and Lilly were on the way to Malibu's airport. Lilly's parents were driving them and Lilly's brother Ron in the family's silver minivan, and Lilly was being a backseat driver, much to Miley's chagrin.

"But Dad!" Lilly whined. "We're going to be late! They're not going to let us on the plane if we're not there early enough!"

Miley reached across the seat and took Lilly's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Lilly," she said quietly. "It's okay."

Lilly turned, disbelief in her eyes. "Miley! We can't miss our wedding!" she said, her voice's high pitch indicating how stressed she truly was.

Miley simply squeezed a bit more firmly and smiled. As she smiled, she willed all the love and support she could into her facial expression. Lilly quickly registered what Miley was trying to do, and slowly she calmed down. "But--"

Miley cut her off by whispering, "Shhh." As Lilly grew quiet, Miley softly said, "Lilly, we're not going to miss anything. You and I are here together. They're not going to start the wedding without us, I promise. If we get there a few minutes late, I think we'll still be okay. If some disaster happens and we miss the plane, we can always find another flight." Left unspoken was the option of immediately chartering a flight, which they were saving for a backup plan. This flight they wanted to do incognito.

At Miley's soothing words, Lilly did indeed calm down markedly. "You're right, Miles," she said with a smile. She turned her gaze to the front of the van. "I'm sorry," she said to her parents. "I'm just nervous, I guess."

"We forgive you," Ron said. "But geez, don't let it happen again, okay?"

"Ron," Lilly's mother Meredith said, "Be nice. Your sister's just very, very nervous about her wedding, and that's understandable."

Lilly's father Phil looked into the rear view mirror briefly. "So why did we have to get measured for tuxedos _and_ bring dress clothes? As a backup plan in case the tuxes aren't ready?"

Lilly and Miley nonchalantly glanced at each other before Lilly said, "Uhhh, yeah! A backup plan!" The girls had decided earlier that they weren't going to say anything about the second wedding, which Lilly's father and brother knew nothing about, until they were in the air en route to Florida. Simply mentioning that there was going to be a second ceremony would certainly lead to an explanation of exactly why that ceremony was needed, and Miley and Lilly were waiting on that discussion until the first wedding was over.

The drive to the airport went smoothly, and in a few minutes they had safely parked the van in the parking garage adjacent to the airport. As they unloaded the suitcases and began to make their way to the terminal, Miley and Lilly fell behind the others just slightly. Lilly whispered, "That was a good idea to go ahead and send our _other_ bags ahead with Hannah's jet."

Miley nodded and whispered back, "Yeah, that was actually Daddy's idea. He figured there was no need to carry all those other bags, plus having them with us could be hard to explain if someone were to get into them on accident."

"Smart man, your dad," Lilly said with a smile, getting a very similar smile in return from Miley.

As they entered the terminal, they quickly found the Northwest terminal. Lilly's father battled with the electronic check-in system for two minutes before her brother finally took command and got everyone registered. Their flight had a short layover in Detroit, and the total flying time was just around five hours, but with the time change they would be arriving about eight hours after their departure, making it night in Buffalo when they arrived. From there they would take taxis to Niagara Falls, where they would all be staying in the Embassy Suites Fallsview overnight. Lilly had already made arrangements to have their ceremony held directly at the falls, in a small private ceremony.

As the five of them checked their luggage and made their way through the security checkpoints, somehow they all escaped without any of them being taken aside for more rigorous inspection. Miley suspected that had to do with the fact that Lilly had already inspected everyone's carry-on bags the night before and again on the way to the airport. Lilly's frightening and rather creative threat to her brother, were he to get them delayed by bringing something troublesome, might also have influenced the sparse nature of everyone's carry-on—Miley's included. Once they were safely through the security checkpoint, they made their way back to the appropriate gate. As they walked up, they saw that several seats at their gate were already filled by familiar faces, putting smiles on almost everyone's faces.

Miley and Lilly immediately made their way to Robbie Ray and gave him a joint hug. "Good to see you two made it 'fore the plane started boardin'," he said with a grin. As he held them, he softly said, "I'm proud of you two. I'm very, very proud." He kissed each of them on the forehead, then he pointed to the others sitting in the gate's seats. "Now go sit with them other troublemakers," he said lightly.

Miley and Lilly smiled as they sat down next to Luanne, Kaela, Jackson and Oliver. Luanne was chatting up a storm with Kaela, with Oliver hanging on every word Luanne said. Jackson, true to form, was asleep, a magazine sitting in his lap. "Hey everyone," Miley said as she and Lilly sat directly across from Kaela and Luanne. Miley smacked Jackson's knee to wake him up. "Hi big brother!"

"Hey," Lilly said as she sat down next to Miley. "Kaela, we're so happy you're going with us!" she said happily.

"Hey, I wouldn't miss this for the world," Kaela replied. "Plus this'll give me a nice break from work." Kaela and Jackson had both graduated high school in June, but they had both decided to work a year before pursuing college. Kaela had already received multiple acceptances from several colleges, but she and Jackson wanted to attend the same school together. It appeared now that school was going to be the University of Tennessee, since Jackson had gotten his acceptance letter earlier in the week. While Kaela was uncertain as to what she wanted to do as a career, she had strong interests in both medicine and law, so both of them were likely pursuits for her.

"Where do you work?" Luanne asked her, leaning slightly away from Oliver.

"I'm working as a receptionist for a law firm in Malibu," Kaela said. "Not particularly glamorous, but at least it's something different throughout the day. Plus it gets my foot in the door if I decide to shoot for law school." She turned to Jackson and gave him a smile. "But it looks like we'll be heading to Knoxville next summer, now that my man here has gotten in," she said as she put her right arm around Jackson.

Jackson looked back at Kaela, a genuine smile on his face. "Thanks for waiting a year, Kaela. I just.." He hesitated, because he didn't want to dredge up any turmoil for Oliver. But he couldn't lie to the woman he was completely in love with. "I was just afraid that if we spent too much time far away from each other that things might not work out."

Kaela's smile hid the fact that she herself had felt the same fear. She had been happier with Jackson this last year than she could ever remember, and she had dreaded going to college and him not going with her. When he had suggested they both take a year between high school and college, she had been thrilled at his idea. Now, it appeared that idea had truly been inspired. _Now if he'd just get over his fear of marriage..._

Any further discussion was cut off when the gate attendant announced, "First call for boarding for Northwest Flight 4243 to Detroit! We'll start boarding with rows 1 through 9..."

Several hours later, the party had arrived at the Embassy Suites. As Robby Ray and Phil Truscott took care of checking into the four suites reserved for them, Miley, Lilly, Luanne, Kaela and Meredith Truscott were huddled around the large pile of luggage as Miley dialed her Aunt Dolly's cell phone. Jackson, Ron and Oliver were busy arguing about whether it was harder on the human body to suppress a burp or a fart, and no one else seemed too keen to enter that particular conversation.

"I keep getting the message that she's unavailable," Miley said as she snapped her phone closed.

"Wow, you've gotten that message the last hour now," Lilly said. "When was she supposed to get here?"

"I don't know, when _was_ I supposed to get here?" said a voice from over Lilly's shoulder, prompting a smile from Lilly and a squeal of delight from Miley as they turned and hugged Dolly.

"Aunt Dolly!" Miley said excitedly. "We were starting to get worried about you!"

"Yeah, you coulda called and told us you were here, you know," Lilly said, faking a pout.

"Shucks, my phone's been out'a its service area ever since somewhere over New York!" Dolly said with a grin. "And Momma and I kinda got caught up in sightseein' once we got here, so I guess we just forgot to call."

"Where is Ruthie?" Lilly asked, then she remembered not everyone knew who she and Miley were talking to. "I'm sorry, I'm being rude!" she said suddenly, completely changing her train of thought. "Everyone, this is Miley's aunt Dolly. Dolly is also Miley's godmother, and she helped Robby Ray raise Miley and Jackson after Miley's mom... you know." She reached over and took Miley's hand, squeezing it gently. "Dolly, I want to introduce my mom, Meredith Truscott, and Jackson's girlfriend, Kaela Davis."

By the time Lilly had introduced her mother and Kaela, Dolly had already walked over to Luanne and wrapped her up in a big hug. "This one here I already know, I think," she said as Luanne returned the hug fiercely.

"It's good to see you again, Aunt Dolly," Luanne said. "Even if it has just been a few days since I left." Luanne smiled sincerely as she realized she truly had missed her aunt, who had stepped up to fill the maternal void in her life. The time Luanne had spent with Dolly had given her a good idea of what having a mother felt like, and her appreciation for Dolly was beyond description.

Meredith walked over to Dolly and said, "Dolly, it's my pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard the girls talk about you on several occasions."

Dolly smiled as she released Luanne from her embrace. "Meredith, I have to say that you've raised a fine young lady in Lilly. She's a great example of how fine you and your husband are as parents." Dolly then turned to look as Kaela, who stood nearly a foot taller than Dolly. "Land's sakes, you are a tall one, girl!" she said. "And every bit as gorgeous as Jackson says, too!"

Kaela grinned and blushed slightly as she said, "That just won him some points," getting a laugh from all the women. She held out her hand and said, "It's nice to meet you, Dolly." She looked surprised when Dolly ignored the extended hand and simply stepped forward and hugged Kaela.

"Kaela, you're still young enough for me to be able to hug when I feel like it, so no complainin'!" Dolly stepped back and sized her up. "Jackson's crazy about you. Lord, you shoulda heard him talk about you at Christmas last year!"

"I couldn't miss this for anything," Kaela said, her face slightly red. "Maybe I'll get to see you at another family wedding sometime," she added with a sigh which left Dolly a bit confused.

Miley stepped forward and said, "Kaela's getting a bit tired of waiting for Jackson to propose to her."

Kaela nodded her head. "Sometimes I think I'm going to have to be the one to propose to him."

Dolly smiled at that statement, both at its simple honesty and because she suspected there might be a surprise waiting for Kaela this weekend. "Darlin', I bet that time will come a lot sooner than you think!" she said as Robby Ray came back over to the women. "Robby Ray, are you takin' good care of my girls here?" she asked loudly as he handed a stack of room keys to Lilly, who was closest to him.

"We all got here in one piece, didn't we?" Robby Ray said with a laugh. "Momma upstairs?"

Dolly nodded. "She can't miss her 'Wheel of Fortune', you know that. I think I'll ride up with these girls here and catch up on all the latest gossip, if nobody minds."

Luanne stepped up and said, "I think we'd all like that." She took one of the card keys from Lilly and got her bags.

"Room 411," Lilly said. "What room are you and Ruthie in, Dolly?"

"We're in 413," Dolly answered. She bent over and grabbed two suitcases, prompting Kaela and Luanne to both speak up.

"You don't have to get that," both Kaela and Luanne said at the same time. However, their words didn't faze Dolly in the least.

"Didn't ask permission 'cause I don't need it," Dolly said in a sassy voice, getting grins from Miley and Lilly.

"That's my aunt," Miley said with a grin.

Phil Truscott walked over with Jackson, Oliver and Ron in tow. "Meredith, we're going to be in room 412," he said, then he noticed the newcomer in the midst of the women. "Hello," he said, extending his hand before he noticed both Dolly's hands were filled with suitcases. "Um, I'm Phil Truscott, Lilly's father."

"I'm Dolly Stewart," Dolly answered. "And I'd shake your hand but mine are sorta busy at the moment." She looked over at Miley and Lilly and said, "I was just telling your wife that you two have sure raised a fine young lady. I tell you, when she and Miley told me the big news at Momma's last Christmas, I was as happy as a pig in slop!"

Phil looked a bit uncertain but he managed a smile while he leaned over to his daughter and whispered, "Is that good?"

Lilly whispered back, "Oh, yeah," a sly grin on her face.

Robby Ray handed a card over to Jackson and said, "Oliver, I expect you'll be bunkin' with Jackson and me. And Ron, you're welcome to stay with us men, too, if you'd like."

When Ron's answer wasn't immediately forthcoming, Lilly chirped, "I bet Ron wants to stay wherever Luanne is is!" Miley immediately smacked Lilly's shoulder. "Ow!" Lilly said as she rubbed the stinging body part.

"That wasn't very nice," Miley said, softly chastising her girlfriend.

Lilly looked at her brother, who was turning a light shade of red. "True though," she said defiantly. "Oh Ron, I'm just giving you a hard time!" But then she glanced at Luanne, who was trying her best to keep from blushing herself... and failing. _Oh no. No way. Does she really... But she just met him yesterday!_

"Thanks for trying to embarrass me, sis," Ron said as he grabbed his bag. "Mr. Stewart, I'd love to room with you guys. No offense to Mom and Dad, but sharing a room with my parents on vacation kinda went out a few years back for me."

As Ron started to walk to the elevators, Luanne reached out and gently touched his shoulder. "It's okay," she said to the slightly older young man. "I kinda think you're cute myself," she said, instantly putting a surprised smile on his face.

"Really?" Ron said, a sentiment immediately echoed by his sister.

"Yeah, really?" Lilly said, with a significantly louder voice.

Luanne smiled and said to Ron, "We'll talk later," then she gathered her own bags and began walking to the elevator.

"Heck, _we're_ talking sooner, then!" Lilly said, practically pulling Miley and their bags to the elevator in pursuit of Luanne.

The wedding party quickly sorted itself into two groups, separated neatly along gender lines. In one room, Robby Ray, Jackson, Oliver, Ron and Phil spent most of the night watching whatever sports they could find on the television. In another room, Miley, Lilly, Luanne, Kaela, Dolly, Meredith and Ruthie talked, laughed, gossiped and joked well into the night. Miley and Lilly had already decided that no rehearsal was going to take place before this wedding. They wanted the ceremony to be as natural as their love for each other, and no one had expressed any objection to that idea. The wedding was still going to be formal dress with a professional photographer and videographer, but otherwise the young women had insisted upon restraint.

After the younger girls retired to their own room for at least a few hours of sleep, Meredith, Dolly and Ruthie spent some time discussing exactly what the wedding meant to Miley and Lilly's relationship.

"Well, I told Lilly a few months ago that Miley really was my daughter-in-law already, it just wouldn't be official until the wedding took place," Meredith said as the night crept on, getting knowing nods from Dolly and Ruthie at her realization.

Dolly added, "Heavens to Betsy, those two have been closer'n any married couple I ever set my eyes on since Christmas a' last year! It's a dang shame that they had to go to all this trouble to get up here just to get married and it be legal."

"Well, if they lived in Massachusetts, they could get married there, but they have to have lived there for some time first," Ruthie said. When both Meredith and Dolly turned to look at her with surprised expressions, Ruthie said, "What? Can't a grandmother research some things for her granddaughter and her fiancée?" As the two other women laughed, Ruthie smiled and added, "Well, I coulda saved 'em some money if not for that whole resident thing!"

"Oh heavens," Meredith said as she carefully stood, her legs popping as her joints started to wake up. "I have had so much fun talking tonight that I nearly peed on myself several times."

Ruthie nodded sagely. "Just one more gift your kids leave you," she said. "And it never goes away." She walked over to Meredith and gave her a friendly hug. "It's so nice to meet you, Meredith. Your daughter is one of the finest young ladies I've ever known."

"And the same goes for Miley," Meredith said, looking from Ruthie to Dolly and then back again. "What the two of them have is really amazing."

"That it is," Dolly said in a voice softer than any Meredith had heard from her tonight. "Those two girls have already been through some hard times, and I bet there'll be more trouble for 'em sometime in the future, but I don't think there's nothin' they can't handle together."

"I have a feeling you're right, Dolly," Meredith said with a smile. "Well, good night, you two. See you in the morning."

"Night, Meredith!"

"Good night, Meredith," Ruthie said. "You're welcome to join us for coffee in the morning, say, six-thirty?"

Meredith thought for a second, then she said, "That sounds great. I'll see you two then."

"And bring that husband of yours with you!" Dolly said. "We need to get him and Robby Ray to loosen up a bit, or they're liable to blow a fuse tomorrow!"

Down the hall, Miley, Lilly, Luanne and Kaela were getting ready for bed. The wedding gowns had been taken out and hung up, dresses had been laid out for tomorrow, and an arsenal of hair and cosmetic products had been painstakingly assembled on the bathroom counter, ready for action in the morning. As Miley and Lilly finished brushing their teeth, Kaela and Luanne took a moment to chat with each other as they got ready for bed.

"So how long have you and Jackson been seeing each other?" Luanne asked as she slipped into her shorts and light blue baby doll shirt.

Kaela pulled up her pajama pants as she stood, then she tossed her t-shirt onto the bed. "About fifteen months," she said as she pulled her long red hair back into a ponytail. She tugged on the oversize shirt she liked to sleep in and undid her bra once the shirt was safely in place. As she tugged her bra out through the right sleeve, she said, "You know, Miley and Lilly are really thrilled that you're here, Luanne."

"Really?" Luanne said, looking up. "I mean, I'm family. I _ought_ to be here."

"Yeah, well, the two of them have talked more about you the last two weeks than the wedding itself, they were so happy you were going to be able to make it." Kaela turned down her side of the bed and slid in. "I asked them why I hadn't met you yet, but they said you had some things that were keeping you in Tennessee for a while."

Luanne lowered her head slightly as she took off her glasses and set them on the night stand. "Yeah," she said. "That's one way to put it." She sat down on the bed and turned to look at Kaela. "Kaela, Jackson really loves you. I mean, I know you know that, but he really, really loves you. I can tell."

Kaela rolled over to look at Luanne. "I love him," she said softly. "When we first met, he was so silly and impulsive, but that was part of what made him so adorable. But now..." She lifted her head and looked toward the bathroom as Miley and Lilly walked out in their pajamas and closed the door, leaving it slightly cracked and the light on inside. "Now, after watching the good example of his sister and her girlfriend, Jackson has turned into a young man."

"You talkin' about my brother again?" Miley said as she turned down the covers for Lilly, letting the blonde slide into bed first.

"Yeah," Kaela said with a grin. "How'd you know?"

Lilly scooted across the bed under the covers as she said, "Well, the little hearts and rainbows floating over your head are a dead giveaway."

"Hush, you!" Kaela said with a giggle. "I can't help it. I just..."

Miley climbed into the bed beside Lilly and slid right against her lover, draping her arm over her protectively as she clicked off the lamp, steeping the room in darkness with only a sliver of light from the bathroom. "I know," Miley said after a slight pause. "It's how I feel when I tell someone about how much I love Lilly. It's like, words can't really give you a good enough picture."

"Yeah," Kaela said dreamily.

Luanne laid down and said, "You three are so lucky." Quickly she added, "And I'm happy for you, all of you!"

Lilly and Miley laughed in the dark. "Luanne, it's okay," Lilly said. "You're going to find someone who's crazy about you before long!"

"Unless Ron beats them to it," Miley added with a naughty grin that Lilly felt more than saw, given that Miley's mouth was nuzzling the right side of her neck.

"Yeah, my brother does seem to have a crush on you," Lilly said. "Sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Luanne said. "I think he's sweet... and a bit cute, too."

Now Kaela laughed as the sound of covers rustling informed her and Luanne that someone, probably Lilly, had just sat straight up in the bed next to them. "Ron?" Lilly said, the high-pitched lilt in her voice rather prominent. "_Cute_?"

Luanne grinned into her pillow. "Yeah... kinda."

"I _thought_ I saw you winking at him earlier tonight at dinner!" Kaela said as she playfully pushed Luanne. "You work it, girl!"

Miley said with a light voice, "Now _that_ would make for some interesting family stories, huh?" She left unsaid the exact extent of how interesting a story that would make, but Lilly felt what Miley was asking. However, where she went with it was a total surprise to Miley.

"Miley?" Lilly said softly.

"Yeah?"

Lilly lowered her voice to a mere whisper as she quietly said, "I think we should tell Kaela."

Lilly's warm breath on Miley's ear made her heart pound fiercely, but she willed herself to not pounce on her lover, not with Luanne and Kaela both in the room with them. "Are you sure?" Miley whispered back. Lilly nodded, a gesture easily felt by Miley given how close their heads were. "If it's okay with Luanne, sure," Miley replied. She lifted her head slightly and said in a normal voice, "Lu?"

"Yeah?" came Luanne's reply, her voice a bit tight. When nothing else was said for several seconds, Luanne said, "It's okay with me, you two, if you want to tell her."

"Tell me what?" came Kaela's voice out of the dark.

Luanne got out of the bed and turned to look at Kaela. "Kaela, come over here. Please." She walked over to Miley and Lilly's bed and sat down at the foot of the bed.

At this point, everyone's eyes had been adjusting to the dim light trickling out of the bathroom, so everyone had a small degree of sight. Kaela walked over to the other bed and stood beside it as she asked, "What is it?"

Miley said, "Kaela, we love you very, very much, and we already consider you like a sister."

"I know," Kaela said, nodding her head. "And you know I feel the same way about you and Lilly."

"Well, you should feel the same way about Luanne," Lilly said quietly. "I mean, we know you just met her and all, but you should."

"For a very good reason," added Miley.

"A very, very good reason," Lilly said.

Kaela was obviously confused. She sat down at the foot of Miley and Lilly's bed across from Luanne, whom she looked at closely. "But... why would I feel that way about Luanne?" Realizing how that might have sounded, she hastily added, "Oh, I didn't mean that in a bad way, Luanne, but I just... I just don't know you that well." She looked back at Miley and Lilly, who were sitting up and leaning against each other. "I mean, if Jackson'll ever get around to asking me to marry him, then I'll be your sister-in-law, Miley, and Lilly's sister-in-law too. The only way Luanne would be my sister or sister-in-law too was if--" Her words froze in her throat as she looked into Miley's eyes. The way the low light entered the room, it cast Miley's face into sharp perspective. Shadows fell in a certain way across her face, her eyes, her cheeks, her lips. Kaela turned her head and looked at Luanne, who had the light falling on her face exactly the same way, just from the opposite side. _Oh my God... Their faces! They're almost identical, now that Luanne's glasses are off and Miley's hair is pulled back for bed! _"Are you--" Her voice failed her, so she tried again. "Are you two--"

"Sisters," Luanne said softly. "Miley and I are sisters. We just found out last year, and no one else knows." She didn't mention Ruthie's knowledge of this secret. Even now Luanne's feelings for her grandmother were very confusing, and now was not the time to start digging through them. "Miley and Lilly were kind enough to not tell anyone else, because I wasn't ready to deal with having another family just yet. Lord only knows I've had enough trying to get over the one I had growing up." In the hazy light, she smiled. "But I'm getting there. Having these two love and support me has helped me get through some really tough times, Kaela." Luanne shifted on the bed slightly. "I used to be a really bad person. I hurt others, I lied, I stole, I... I was trouble. My--" She sighed. "The woman I _thought_ was my mother died during labor, my childhood was pretty much hell, and I threw away several years of my life by getting lost in anger and hate. But last Christmas, Miley and Lilly saved my life, both literally and symbolically." She reached out and took first Miley's, then Lilly's hand. "They helped me to see that there was so much more to life than I was seeing. They helped me find the strength to fight for my own life, and whenever I felt those damn black, evil thoughts start to creep back into my mind, I thought of them and how much love they have together. Not just love for each other, but love for all of us." Tears were running down Luanne's face, but she released Lilly's hand long enough to wipe them, then she reclaimed Lilly's hand. "Love for _me_. Something I hadn't known for a very, very long time. It's because of my sister and sister-in-law that I have a life today."

Kaela's eyes were red with tears as she said, "I didn't know, Luanne."

"You couldn't know," Lilly said. "We decided to not tell anyone until Luanne was ready to deal with all the fallout that would come with telling this secret."

"And I don't know if I ever will be ready," Luanne said honestly. "But for now, I know I have a sister and a sister-in-law who love and support me. We still let everyone think that Miley and I are just cousins, but the immediate parties all know the truth," she said with a smile and a warm look at Miley and Lilly. She turned to look at Kaela. "And now you know the truth, too."

"So Jackson doesn't know?" Kaela asked.

"No," Miley said quietly. "Not yet. Sometime, we need to tell him, but the time doesn't feel right yet."

Kaela shook her head as she said, "Well, it's not my secret to reveal. I won't say anything to him about it, I swear."

"We know," Miley said. "We're trusting you with this because before long you're going to be part of our family officially. _If_ my thick-headed brother ever wakes up and gives you a ring!"

Laughter went around the circle of young women on the bed, adding an air of levity to the darkness of the room. "Okay, bedtime," Miley said. "Otherwise we're all gonna have a hard time gettin' out of bed in the mornin'!"

"Good night, you two," Lilly said as she leaned forward and hugged Luanne and Kaela at the same time.

As soon as Lilly released them, Miley leaned forward and grabbed them both again. "See you in the morning, and thanks for being here," she said softly.

"Thanks for having me," Kaela said. "Sis," she added with a grin.

"It'll happen, Kaela," Miley said with an understanding look as she reclined. Lilly followed suit, resting her head on Miley's left shoulder. Rather than saying good night verbally, Lilly stretched upward and kissed Miley, telling her good night in a more intimate way.

Luanne and Kaela retreated to their bed and quickly turned in. In seconds, Luanne and Kaela were asleep. After a long, passionate kiss, Miley and Lilly followed them.

"_This table is cold," Miley grumbled. "And my butt's cold, too."_

"_Oh Miley, stop whining," Lilly said playfully. "You know how much we both want... this..." She looked around, trying to determine where she was. She felt Miley squeeze her hand suddenly._

"_Lil?" Miley's voice said, uncertain and shaky._

"_Yeah, Miles?"_

"_What are-- WHOA!!" she yelled as a woman in a white lab coat stood up from between her legs, prompting a shriek from Lilly as well. A peach-colored drape had hidden her until she stood._

"_Oh my gosh, you scared us to death!" Lilly said, her heart racing as fast as Miley's She looked around at the sterile-looking room filled with cabinets, counters and various pieces of equipment, finally taking in the woman standing in front of them. She was a bit taller than either of them, looked to be in her late thirties, and wore a lab coat and goggles. _

_The older woman grinned and said, "Did you forget I was there?" She smiled gently at them and said, "It's okay, lots of couples get nervous at this point."_

_Lilly looked down at the drape covering Miley's waist and legs, finally realizing they were in a doctor's office, with Miley in position for a pelvic exam or procedure. "Miley, are you okay?" she asked. "Does this feel, um, like a _dream_ to you?" she asked, winking an eye for emphasis._

_Miley nodded her head. "Yeah, exactly what I was thinking. C'mere." Lilly leaned down so Miley could whisper in her ear. "Night before our wedding?" she whispered._

_Lilly nodded. "Yeah. We're dreaming."_

_Miley smiled, then her smile instantly disappeared as a very, very cold sensation suddenly entered her vagina. "WHOA! What the heck was that?" she said loudly._

_A voice came from the other side of the drape. "Miley," the doctor said, "I'm inserting the tubing into your uterus now. It's going to feel a little cold."_

"Ya think?!?_" Miley practically yelled as her back started to arch off the table. Lilly instantly leaned over and stroked Miley's forehead._

"_Shhh," Lilly said, trying to calm her wife down. "Miles, I think I know what's going on."_

_Miley swung her left arm over and grabbed Lilly's shirt. "Then would ya be good enough to TELL ME?"_

_Rather than try to pull away, Lilly instead leaned further over until their lips were almost touching. "I think we're getting ready to make a baby," she said with a brilliant smile. She grinned until tears formed in her eyes, making them sparkle a shade of blue that reminded Miley of the blue sky she remembered from her childhood. The blue sky that stood for all the wonder of the world, a world with no limits beyond what a young girl could dream._

"_Are we really?" Miley said, the cold and discomfort pushed aside as she focused on her wife's beautiful face. She released Lilly's shirt and instead ran her left hand through Lilly's hair._

"_Yes, you are," came the doctor's disembodied voice again. "Mrs. Truscott?"_

"_Which one?" Miley and Lilly said simultaneously, followed by both of them laughing._

"_Sorry," said the doctor, mirth in her voice as well. "Lilly, I meant."_

"_Yes," Lilly said, taking a step toward the foot of the bed but not releasing Miley._

_A hand appeared holding a small cylinder with a green button on one end. "This is yours. The delivery tube is snugly in place in your wife's uterus, and the sperm delivery system is primed and ready."_

_Lilly gingerly took the cylinder, being careful to hold her thumb above the button without actually contacting it. She looked at Miley and whispered a bit too loudly, "Whose sperm did we use?"_

_The doctor's head poked above the cover of the drape. "You two really _are_ nervous, aren't you?" she said._

"_Yeah, of course we are!" Lilly said. "This IS our first baby, after all." She turned to Miley. "Isn't it?" Miley just shrugged, not offering Lilly much help._

_The doctor said, "Lilly, you and Miley have been working with us for several years now. This facility is the most advanced fertility center in the world, and we've spent over a year transforming some of yours and Miley's epithelial cells into stem cells. Once that was done, then we steered a quantity of your re-engineered stem cells, Lilly, into a particular line of development that transformed them into sex cells. Spermatozoa, to be exact. And now we've matured them into a sufficient quantity of sperm to get your wife pregnant." She paused and looked up at them again. "I wanted to thank you two, again. Without your generous support over the years, it would've taken much, much longer for fertility medicine to reach this point. And now we're about to show the world that reverse-engineered stem cells from adult epithelial tissue are a scientifically equal and ethically superior option to embryonic stem cells. In a huge way." Her head once again disappeared behind the drape over Miley's legs. "Now, remember, this might not take on the first try. We have enough sperm engineered for several more tries over the next few days if need be."_

_Lilly looked down at Miley. "I have the oddest feeling it's going to take this try," she said with a smile on her face._

_Miley looked back up at Lilly. "Me too," she said softly. Lilly leaned down and kissed Miley warmly. "Go ahead, Lilly Bear," Miley said in her sultry voice. "Knock me up."_

_Lilly closed her eyes and kissed Miley deeply, not holding any of her love or passion back. As she felt Miley's hands cup the back of her head and pull their mouths together even more tightly, she lost herself in the pleasure of their kiss. And she hit the green button._

A gentle shaking woke Lilly from her dream. "Lilly," said the sweetest voice she had ever heard, "it's time to wake up, sweetheart." Lilly opened her eyes and saw Miley's bright blue eyes and broad smile looking down at her.

Lilly instead wrapped her arms around Miley and pulled her down onto her chest. "Good morning, Miles," Lilly said warmly.

"No fooling around," Miley said gently. "Kaela's in the bathroom and Luanne is right over there."

"Your discretion is much appreciated," said Luanne with a very sarcastic voice, prompting Miley to turn her head and stick her tongue out at her sister.

"Party pooper," Lilly added. She looked up at Miley, who had turned her gaze back to her fiancée. "We need to wait anyway, until after the wedding."

"Things are going to be happening fast after the ceremony this morning, you know," Miley said.

"I know. What are we going to tell Kaela until we get on the plane?"

"Well, we can tell her part of the truth, I guess. That we have another ceremony to go to, and that we want her there." Miley chewed her lip, a habit that Lilly found absolutely adorable.

"I think she'll be flipped out when we tell her the truth," Lilly said with a grin. "But I want her to know."

Miley nodded. "So do I. But now we have to get up and get dressed, Lil. It's seven-thirty, and Dolly and your mom are on their way to help us with our hair and make-up." She saw a look of something flicker behind Lilly's eyes. "What?" she asked curiously.

"Just our dream," Lilly said, her voice lower and her face slightly flushed. "I loved it," she said with a smile and a kiss.

"So did I," Miley replied, "except for how cold that thing was. Ugh." She kissed Lilly again. "But I'd do it a hundred times for our baby."

"Well, let's hope you won't have to," Lilly said with a grin and then a giggle. She gently pushed Miley, helping her back up, then the two of them stood. Lilly stepped behind Miley and lifted up her lover's shirt slightly, rubbing Miley's flat abdomen tenderly. "One day," she whispered in Miley's right ear, "one day that'll be our baby girl in there."

Miley reached back behind her head and gently ran her hands through Lilly's silky blonde locks. "I get the first one," she said in a voice just slightly above a whisper, "then you can have the second."

"Deal," Lilly said, patting Miley's abdomen and finally releasing her.

Luanne walked over and stood in front of them, eying them closely. "As much as I love you two, I think you act pretty weird sometimes."

Miley and Lilly both laughed at Luanne's comment. "We resemble that opinion," Lilly said with a giggle.

"Completely," Miley added.

Luanne leaned forward and kissed first Miley, then Lilly on the left cheek. "Go get ready. You two have a big day today, and we want to get out there while it's still halfway warm."

Miley looked up at the clock. It was almost nine-thirty, and it was very nearly time. She looked back at herself in the mirror again, and she had to will her heart to calm down.

"Miley darlin', you look as beautiful as your momma did on her weddin' day," Dolly said as she brought Miley her veil.

As Miley took the veil, she looked at it and wondered if this was how her mother felt right before her wedding. She looked back into the mirror and remembered the photo she had in her room of her mother and father at their wedding. Dolly was right; the resemblance was striking, from the thick, curly dark brown hair, to the brilliant blue eyes, to the warm, round face, to the long arms, to the same sleeveless raw silk wedding gown, unchanged from when her mother had worn it. "I do look like her, don't I?" Miley said softly, more to herself than to anyone else.

Dolly put her right arm around Miley as she also looked into the mirror. "You sure do, little ladybug. You've grown up into a fine young lady, and your momma's proud of you."

"I know," Miley said. The sound of the door to the dressing room opening drew her attention away from the mirror. She turned to see her father walking in, looking quite sharp in his black and white tuxedo. As he took in the sight of his daughter in her wedding gown, he froze in place. Miley smiled and said, "So what do ya think?"

Robby Ray took a moment to catch his breath. The resemblance of Miley to her mother was striking, although Miley was quite a bit younger than her mother was when she and Robby Ray had gotten married. Still, the effect was a bit unnerving. He composed himself and walked over to Miley. Wordlessly, Dolly stepped out of the room to give them their privacy.

"You look every bit like an angel," Robby Ray finally said. "Even knowin' this day was comin' up, it's still sorta hard to believe that it's here."

Miley looked back into the mirror. "I know what you mean." She looked down at the engagement ring on her finger and smiled. "But this is a good day. This is what we've waited for." She looked back at her father. "So why am I so nervous?" She felt tears starting to form, and she closed her eyes tightly to try and hold them off.

"Miley," her father said softly. "Lilly sent this to you." He held out a note in front of his daughter.

With a shaking hand, Miley took it and opened it. She felt a tear slip out as she read the simple note, spattering as it struck the small piece of thin paper upon which Lilly had written a few words:

_Together, Miley. We can get through this together. Now pull yourself together, cause I know you're trying not to cry right now. It's time for us to do this, to make our pledges to each other in front of our families and God. _

_I love you._

_Your Lilly Bear_

Miley laughed as she read the simple note. "She always knows just what to say to me," she said as she gingerly wiped the tears from the corner of her eye. Her makeup was minimal, but she still didn't want to smear anything. She looked at her father, fighting tears himself. "I'm ready, Daddy."

Jackson made sure everyone not participating in the ceremony had been seated in the small heated pavilion overlooking the spectacular falls, then he gave the signal to the organist to begin playing. Since there were no guests to speak of and only a minimal number of attendants, Oliver and Luanne walked down the aisle first, with Oliver moving to the left to stand as Lilly's best man and Luanne moving to the right to serve as Miley's maid of honor. Jackson caught Kaela's eye and gave her a wink, then he turned to look back as Miley and Lilly both stepped out of the sides of the pavilion, each with her father in tow behind her. Lilly's subdued ivory white dress, made of the same raw silk as Miley's, had required a bit of alteration, as it originally been long-sleeved and sized for Lilly's mother, slightly too large for Lilly's body, but now it looked stunning. Now sleeveless like Miley's dress, it clung to her shoulders with a choker wrapping lightly around Lilly's neck. The sleeves that had been removed had been made into long elbow-length white gloves which Lilly was now wearing, making her look amazingly like a princess from some fairy tale as her golden hair fell in strands and braids behind her.

As Jackson looked at his sister walking the aisle beside Lilly, he also was struck by how much she looked like their mother did in her wedding photos. He saw Miley look up and smile at him, bringing him back to the present. As the brides passed him, he smiled at both of them, then he took his seat beside Kaela.

As Miley and Lilly reached the minister, the older man smiled and waited for the music to stop. Once that had happened, he turned to Lilly and said, "Who gives this young woman away?"

"Her mother and I do," Phil Truscott said, holding his daughter's hand as he stepped up beside her.

The minister turned to Miley and Robby Ray. "And who gives this young woman away?"

"I do," Robby Ray said as he likewise stepped forward, holding Miley's hand. Together he and Phil put their daughters' hands together, then they stepped back and took their seats, leaving Oliver, Luanne, Miley and Lilly standing in front of the minister.

The minister opened his small Bible and said, "Marriage is one of the most sacred ceremonies recognized across the world today. It is a holy ritual to unite two people who truly love each other for all eternity, recognizing their devotion and fidelity to each other above all else. Entering into this covenant is not to be done lightly, but instead only to be done by those who have wisely considered their relationship and their future from all angles and sought the counsel of God in their decision."

He looked past the brides to the families seated. "Lilly and Miley have chosen to write their own unique wedding vows to pledge their dedication to one another."

Lilly looked deeply into Miley's eyes as she removed her gloves, handing them to Oliver without ever breaking eye contact with Miley's moist eyes. She took a deep breath as Oliver gently pressed Miley's wedding band into her right hand. "I, Lillian Jessica Truscott, take you, Miley May Stewart, to be my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, to honor and to protect, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. I offer myself to you, as I am, wholeheartedly. I take thee, Miley, above all others, for now and forevermore." Lilly gently slid the brilliant white gold wedding band onto Miley's left ring finger until it touched her engagement ring. Lilly looked up at Miley and smiled at the tears running down Miley's face, tears that she knew were reflected on her own face. She took Miley's hands again as Miley closed her eyes for a second, then opened them again.

"I, Miley May Stewart, take you, Lillian Jessica Truscott, to be my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold, to love and to cherish, to honor and to protect, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health. I offer myself to you, as I am, wholeheartedly. I take thee, Lilly, above all others, for now and forevermore." As Miley finished her vows, Luanne placed the wedding band into her hand. With a shaking hand, Miley placed Lilly's wedding band on her finger and slid it until it was also resting against her engagement ring. They smiled as they looked at each, and each of them laughed slightly as the tears continued to trickle down their faces. As the minister spoke again, they never took their eyes off each other.

"By the power vested in me by the nation of Canada and the state of Ontario, I hereby pronounce you wife and wife. You may each kiss your bride."

As Miley and Lilly put their arms around each other, the rest of the world faded away as they closed their eyes. When their lips touched, they each felt a small spark, a gentle shock at the moment of contact. They kissed deeply, finally registering the cheers of their families and friends watching them. As they broke contact, they still held each other, laughing and smiling as the minister proclaimed, "I now present to you Mrs. Lillian Jessica and Mrs. Miley May Truscott! May your union be blessed by God always!"

**Author's Afterword:** Okay, that was eerie. I was just typing the scene with Miley and Lilly declaring their vows to each other, when "As I Am" began playing on my mp3 player. Very serendipitous, and a nice sign that their union is truly blessed. Sorry about this chapter taking so long to finish, but it turned out to be quite a bit longer than I had been expecting, and it had to be done right. I'm planning on probably two more chapters in this story, with the _really_ big wedding on deck next. And yes, I have used this chapter's Intro music for a chapter in a previous story, but it so captured the scene of them looking into each other's eyes during the wedding that I just had to use it again. Hope no one minds.

For those of you interested in knowing how much of the stem cell reverse-engineering in Miley's and Lilly's dream is science fiction and how much is reality, you might be surprised. Back in 2007 researchers had already successfully taken epithelial skin cells from mammals and were able to "de-age" them back into fully functioning stem cells. This process was first done on small mammals (mice) and then advanced to larger mammals (goats). Work on human cells is currently proceeding. Once stem cells are available, they have shown tremendous versatility, as they can be developed into any type of descendant cell desired through careful manipulation of their environment. The greatest obstacle concerning stem cell research until now has been their source: embryos and lines of cloned embryonic cells. Reverse-engineering stem cells offers the promise originally seen with stem cells years ago while avoiding the ethical and moral quagmire of using embryonic stem cells. So one day we might indeed see same-sex couples able to have children made of genetic material from both parents (although female-female parents will be much easier than male-male parents due to potential problems from the Y sex chromosome). Now you can see how Miley's and Lilly's daughter Brooke will have features from both her mothers!

I'll see you next chapter. Until then, happy reading!

-- Jo --


	6. Chapter 6: Faithfully

**Author's Note: **Yay, finally got this chapter done! Like the one before it, this one took on a life of its own and pretty much led me around by the nose while I was writing it. Before we get started, I want to thank everyone for their reviews and notes. I'm always happy to chat! Also, **live2rite**, thank you _so_ much for your email. I'm really happy that you and your friend are enjoying my stories, and trust me, I'm as addicted to writing them as it sounds like you are to reading them! **Mr. Fishy**, I love your messages too! I love the stories you're currently doing; no matter how creatively you reimagine Miley's and Lilly's backgrounds, you always find a way for the emotions at the hearts of the characters to shine through, whether times are good or bad for them. And finally, **LaughLoveLive**, my brother in arms (or maybe brother in bytes). I loved your email, and I'm touched by your offer. My reply has already been sent, but right now I want everyone to know that I am ecstatic over "The Search for Tomorrow." Also, I can hardly wait to see your return to Lileyland for your next story, although I suspect we might be seeing Miley and Lilly before then... To everyone else, keep reading and keep writing, both reviews as well as your own stories. We're all here to share the love, after all!

For my list of disclaimers, please see Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. Also, please exercise some common sense when reading this or any other story. _If you don't like it, then stop reading it!_

**As I Am, I Take Thee **

by Jo P.

Chapter 6: Faithfully

_They say that the road ain't no place to start a family_

_Right down the line it's been you and me_

_And lovin' a music woman ain't always what it's supposed to be_

_Oh girl, you stand by me_

_I'm forever yours_

_Faithfully_

--Journey;"Faithfully" (as sung at Hannah and Lola's wedding)

"Come on, Miley!" Kaela said with a plaintive voice as she tried to keep pace with Miley and Lilly as they made their way through the hotel's lobby to the van waiting outside. "Why won't you tell me where we're all going next?"

"It's a surprise!" Miley called over her shoulder as they hurried outside and piled into the van.

Jackson and Robby Ray were finishing loading the bags into the back of the large van as the girls climbed inside. They joined Luanne on the large back bench seat, with Lilly glaring at her brother Ron until he finally moved from his spot beside Luanne. However, Luanne smiled at Lilly and said, "It's okay, Lilly," then she got up with Ron, moving to sit with him in the bench seat in front of the girls.

Lilly plopped down into the large seat beside her new wife and squealed as she abruptly wrapped Miley up in a massive hug, startling her partner momentarily. "Umph! Lilly, what are you doing?" Miley said with a laugh.

"Just loving on my _wife_," Lilly said joyfully, loudly emphasizing the last word. "And pretty much loving life right at this moment!"

Miley leaned back and relaxed into the hug, enjoying the warm feeling of her lover's strength and passion. "I love you, Mrs. Truscott," Miley said as she leaned her head as far back as she could, looking into Lilly's eyes.

Lilly leaned forward and claimed a quick kiss from Miley before she smiled and said, "And I love you, Mrs. Truscott." She paused, then shook and squealed again. "Ooooohhh! I _love_ saying that!"

"Well, I kinda like hearing it," Miley said with a smirk.

The slam of the rear doors of the van indicated that all the bags had been stowed away. Everyone buckled their seat belts as Robbie Ray and Jackson climbed in, with Jackson squeezing in beside Kaela and Miley and Robbie Ray up front with the driver. "Alrighty, everyone, next stop is the airport!" Robbie Ray cheerfully said.

As the van pulled out and began meandering through the traffic, Miley and Lilly settled back and closed their eyes. Miley settled her left hand atop Lilly's left hand, and wordlessly the two young women clicked their wedding bands together, reveling in the sensation of what would come to be one of their favorite little gestures of togetherness.

Inside, Miley still worried a bit about Kaela's reaction to what she would soon learn. Would she be happy? Angry? Resentful? Jealous?

"Hey," Lilly whispered in Miley's ear, breaking her train of thought.

"Hm?" Miley said as she turned to look at her wife.

"You're biting your lip again," Lilly whispered. "That means you're thinking hard about something."

Miley stopped biting her lip and looked at Lilly. "Her reaction," she whispered. Nothing more needed to be said; Lilly would immediately know what she was worried about.

Lilly glanced at Kaela briefly. She was leaning on Jackson, eyes closed, as he held her snugly against him. Lilly leaned in closer to her wife's ear and whispered, "I think we could tell her about anything and she'd be okay with it now, Miles."

"I hope so," Miley said as she snuggled more tightly against Lilly's chest.

After about an hour, they finally arrived at the airport. "We need to drop me an' another one off at the main terminal," Robbie Ray said to the driver as he changed lanes to accommodate the request. "You sure you want to head back home, Ron?" Robbie Ray said over his shoulder as he turned to look at Lilly's brother.

"Yeah, I really need to get back, Mr. Stewart. They need me to work tonight because half the store took the weekend off." Ron gave Luanne a forlorn look, then looked back at his feet. He glanced back up to see Luanne's blue eyes still fixed on him, a faint smile on her lips. "What?" he said, trying to quell the grin he felt bubbling up from deep inside his chest.

"I didn't say anything," Luanne said. "Just thinkin' loud," she added with a smile.

"Well, what were you thinking?" Ron asked, now not bothering to fight the grin. He had lost anyway.

"I was just thinkin' that it speaks highly of you that you take responsibility so seriously. I mean, not lettin' down your coworkers."

Ron found his mouth growing increasingly dry the longer Luanne looked at him. "Um, thanks," he managed to squeeze out of his constricting throat. As the van pulled into the unloading lane and came to a stop, Robbie Ray opened his door and hopped out. Ron looked back at Luanne, who now seemed slightly closer than before. "I, uh, guess I need to go," he said, now slightly regretting his decision to return and work.

Suddenly, Luanne darted in and quickly kissed him on the lips, no longer than a second or two before she quickly pulled back. She looked into his now-wide eyes and whispered, "Okay," with a smile. "Call me when you get home?"

Ron fought to catch his breath for a minute, then he stammered, "O-o-okay." The side door to the van opened and Robbie Ray dropped his hand on Ron's shoulder.

"Time to go, pardner," Robbie Ray said. "Say goodbye to my niece." He gently pulled Ron toward him, easing his getting out of the seat.

"He already did," Luanne said, still with her smile on her face. She waved as Ron stepped out of the van, giggling when he closed the door and then waved back.

As Robbie Ray and Ron got Ron's bags out of the back of the van, Miley loudly said, "Luanne! You are _so_ bad!"

"I can't help it," Luanne said sweetly. "He's just so..."

"Annoying?" Lilly helpfully suggested.

Luanne frowned at her. "Honest," she said. "And I like that."

Miley tugged on Lilly's arm not-so-gently. "Lil, your brother is eighteen and Luanne is seventeen. I think we owe them a little bit of freedom, don't you?"

The driver pulled away from the loading zone and made for the private charter area. Lilly looked out the window for a few seconds, then she turned to Luanne. "Luanne, I'm sorry if I seem like I'm trying to turn you against dating my brother, but I just don't know if--"

"If I know what I'm getting into?" Luanne said, interrupting Lilly's sentence. "Try me."

As Lilly looked into Luanne's eyes, she could see the same resolve Miley could muster up. _I'm not going to win this one._ "Well, Ron hasn't dated much. He tends to get really nervous around girls, and he spends most of his free time either on his computer or on his music." She paused and searched for what she was really worried about. "I'm afraid that since he hasn't gotten much attention from girls, he might really fall hard for you, and I'm not sure if you're ready for that just yet."

As Lilly watched for Luanne's reaction, what Luanne did surprised her and Miley both. Even though the fire of determination was still evident in her eyes, Luanne then smiled and slowly reached for Lilly's hand, gently taking and holding it. "Lilly, you know I love you like you were my sister," she said with a quick wink. "But those qualities you see as annoyances, I see as positives. Your brother is honest, shy, sweet and he knows what he enjoys, plus he's not afraid for everyone else to know, either." She paused as she herself searched for the right words to convey what she was thinking. "Right now in my life, I need some sincerity. Some honesty. I know that your brother likes me, and I like him. I promise you, I'm being as sincere and open with my feelings as he is with his. And it feels really, really good to express what I'm feeling."

The van came to a stop inside a hangar with a private jet in it. Miley looked out the rear window and saw Roxy standing beside the plane, talking to some of the ground crew. She turned back and saw Luanne and Lilly smiling, a truce achieved. "Okay everybody," she said as she pulled a Tennessee Titans cap on her head, tucking her hair under it as Lilly did the same with her own Titans cap. "Lilly and I are going to go check in with the crew, then they'll be out here to help with the luggage."

"Um, why do you two get to 'check in'?" Kaela asked, now confused.

"Because we know how to do it, silly," Lilly said playfully, trying to steer any further questions away until they were in the air. She got out of the van, Miley following her.

As they walked over to the jet, Roxy saw them and said, "Well, it's about time you two showed up! Where's that Daddy of yours?"

Miley said, "He's checking Lola's brother in for his flight back home. He'll be here in just a few minutes." She paused for Roxy to hug both her and Lilly at once. At Roxy released them from her bear-like grip, the girls sucked in lungfuls of air, then they laughed.

"You mind to help us with the luggage, Roxy?" Lilly asked.

"I'd be happy to!"

As they walked back over to the van, Miley whispered to Roxy, "Some of them don't know yet, so let's avoid names just yet. We're going to tell Lilly's dad and Jackson's girlfriend Kaela on the flight to Florida."

"Gotcha," Roxy said, nodding her head. "None of the workers here know who's supposed to be flying on the plane, so don't worry your heads about that."

"Good," Lilly said as reached the van. She motioned for everyone to climb out, then she handled the introductions for everyone except for Jackson, who was grabbed in a big crushing hug by Roxy as he stepped out of the plane. After a few bone-crunching seconds, Roxy released him and said, "Well, let's get everybody on the plane! Soon as ol' Robbie Ray gets back, this bird needs to be airborne!"

As the families and Oliver and Kaela made their way onto the jet, everyone was amazed as how luxurious the aircraft was. Already waiting on them inside were Ruthie and Dolly, who both jumped up and greeted everyone as they entered. Jackson and Kaela were the last ones to board, and Kaela just looked around in amazement at first.

"Okay, this is just crazy!" Kaela said loudly as she finally threw herself down into one of the overstuffed leather chairs. "Why are we flying on this jet?" She sat up as everyone else settled into a seat, but before she could say anything further, Robbie Ray entered the fuselage.

"Roxy," he said with a tip of his head to the bodyguard, then he turned to everyone else and said, "Sorry that took so long, but Ron's on his way just fine. Figured you two'd want to know," he said to Phil and Meredith Truscott. Robbie Ray stepped aside so Roxy could close the door, then he said, "Go ahead and tell the boys up front to take off, we need to make up some time."

Roxy smiled and said, "I'll tell the pilots up front to take off, but I don't think one of 'em would take too kindly to being called a boy."

"You just save me from puttin' my foot in my mouth again, Roxy?" he said with a grin. In reply, Roxy just nodded and went forward to the cockpit.

As Robbie Ray joined everyone else in the main compartment of the aircraft, Kaela again spoke up, "Okay, how are we flying on this jet? And where the heck are we going?"

The engines of the jet started, sending a shudder through the aircraft's body as they cycled up to speed. Miley said, "Lilly and I want to do something special for everyone here, because all of you mean the world to us. Plus there's one other thing we have to do for our wedding, and we want all of you there, too."

Lilly spoke after Miley stopped. "We promise we'll tell you more, but just wait a few minutes until we take off, okay?"

Lilly's father looked confused. "So this is some kind of surprise you and Miley have for us?"

"Yeah, Dad," Lilly said.

"Where in the world did you get the money to do this, Lillian?" he said, his voice raising slightly.

"We earned it, Dad," Lilly said. "Like I said, we'll tell you more once we take off."

Her father looked like he had no intentions of letting it go that long, but Meredith reached over and tapped his hand, giving him a look that got his attention. "She's your daughter, Phil," she said. "You've raised her very well. Do you trust the woman she's become?"

He looked at his wife and said, "Of course I do."

"Then trust her and her wife now. I promise, you won't be mad once you hear the truth."

He turned to look at his daughter and new daughter-in-law. He _did_ trust them. "Sorry," he said. "This is just--"

"A surprise?" Miley offered hopefully.

"Yes, a surprise," Phil said with a smile. "And thank you, this certainly does beat flying back on that cramped airplane we flew up on."

"You're welcome," Miley said as she and Lilly snuggled close to each other, covering themselves with a blanket as they readied for takeoff.

In a few minutes, the plane was in the air and Buffalo was fast falling behind them. As soon as the plane leveled out, Kaela stood and walked over to Miley and Lilly, sitting down on the footstool in front of their love seat. "Okay, you two, time for some explanations," she said, prompting a snicker from Jackson. "What's so funny?" she said, turning to fix her boyfriend with a steely stare.

Jackson grinned and said, "Just you gettin' all worked up over them being so sneaky."

Kaela stood and marched over to Jackson, looming over him quite literally. "Well, I'd kinda like some answers, Jackson!"

"No answers here, Kaela," Jackson said, shaking his head. "Just another question."

Sensing what was coming, Miley and Lilly immediately grabbed each other as they held their breath.

Kaela tapped her foot as she said, "It better be a damn good question, Jackson Stewart." Her tone of voice indicated she was approaching her limits of patience, and the interior of the plane had fallen silent awaiting Jackson's response.

Jackson slid out of his seat, landing on the floor on one knee as he pulled a small burgundy box out of his jeans pocket. He opened it and held it up to Kaela as he said, "Will you marry me, Kaela Davis?"

Kaela gasped for breath for a few seconds as she gingerly took the ring out of the box and looked at it. She then slid it onto her left ring finger and then fell to her own knees in front of Jackson. "Yes," she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Yes, I'll marry you, Jackson Stewart." She grabbed him and kissed him furiously as Miley and Lilly both yelled with delight and leaped out of their seat, piling against both Jackson and Kaela in one massive hug.

Miley playfully socked Jackson in his arm as she said, "It's about time, doofus! We were beginning to think you'd never ask her!"

Lilly tickled his ribs as she said, "Yeah! Poor Kaela, waiting all this time because she thought you didn't want to get married!"

Jackson shook both his sister and sister-in-law off as he said, "Well, I was waitin' for the right time! And now that I know we're gonna be goin' to UT together, I figured this weekend would be the perfect time to pop the big question."

Kaela hugged her new fiancée again and said, "I think it's the perfect time, sweetheart. This weekend is a celebration of love, and you did a great job by waiting until now."

"Kaela!" Lilly said in mock outrage. "Just last night you were ready to switch his shampoo with blue hair dye because he still hadn't asked you!"

Kaela grinned and replied, "Well, things change."

"She's got you there there, Lilly," Oliver said with a laugh.

Jackson got back up and helped Kaela to her feet. Robbie Ray came over and opened his arms to hug Kaela. "I think my boy did good in findin' you, Kaela," he said as he hugged her.

"Thanks, Mr. Stewart," Kaela said. "And thanks for welcoming me into your family like you and Miley and Lilly did." She looked around and said, "Sometimes things are just meant to be, I guess."

Miley and Lilly smiled at each other as they both thought about how true Kaela's statement was. "Kaela, Mr. Truscott, Lilly and I have something else to tell you. First, we're flying to Disney World. While it's tradition for the newlyweds to get weddings gifts, Lilly and I want to give all of you a gift, just for being as loving and supportive as you have been of the two of us."

"And apparently we're also going to be celebrating Jackson and Kaela's engagement!" Lilly added happily. "Congratulations again."

"But that's not all we're doing in Disney World," Miley said, looking at Kaela. "We're taking all of you to Hannah Montana's and Lola Luftnagle's wedding!"

Kaela clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh my gosh! Are you serious? I _adore_ them!" She poked Jackson in the arm. "Didn't I just tell you the other day I wished I could go to that?" Not giving him a chance to answer, she turned back to Miley and Lilly and breathlessly asked, "How the heck did you get us invites? I thought it was some A-list music celebrities only!"

"It is," Lilly nodded. "But that's why we had everyone pack dress clothes, so you'd fit in."

Kaela frowned. "But you two didn't pack dress clothes," she said. "I saw all that you packed in the motel last night. You not going with us?"

Miley said, "Not exactly. We kinda have something else to do during the wedding." She turned to look at Lilly, hesitating to say anything else just yet.

Kaela was stunned. "What the hell do you mean you have something else to do? This is the biggest pop star in the world marrying her freaking girlfriend, who's kicking all kinds of ass on television! This is the biggest thing to hit this country in years, plus it's some kind of milestone for gay rights in America too! I mean, twenty years ago a wedding between two girls would be broken up by the police, and now it's gonna be broadcast on live TV! How can you two _possibly_ have something more important to do?" Taking a breath to cool down, she glared at Miley and Lilly. "Miley, I know you like Hannah Montana, but Lilly, you practically love her! Your ring tone, your alarm clock, your posters in your room, your locker at school, they're all--"

"There's no 'practically' to it," Lilly said, her voice subdued but firm. "I do love her. Every bit as much as I love Miley."

Kaela turned ghostly pale as she waited for some sort of explanation, but none was forthcoming. She looked at Miley, who seemed amazingly calm. In fact, she was actually _grinning_ at Lilly's confession. "Miley," she said, "how the hell can you be okay with that? You two just got married, for God's sake!"

Miley turned away from Lilly's amazing blue eyes to look at Kaela. "And we're getting married again this afternoon," she said. "But this second wedding is going to be a teensy bit bigger than the wedding this morning."

Lilly laughed, a single loud laugh. "Yeah, just a bit bigger." She turned to look at Kaela and knew they had to spell it all out clearly now, or something inside Kaela was going to melt. She took a deep breath and said, "Kaela, what we're trying to tell you is that..." She took a quick look at Miley, kissed her quickly, and then looked back at Kaela and hurriedly said, "Miley is Hannah Montana--"

"--and Lilly is Lola Luftnagle," Miley finished smoothly as she likewise looked at Kaela.

Silence met their words, until Oliver said, "Geez, could you two have drug it out any longer? I mean, it took you less time to tell me, and that's counting you stringing me along while I was bringing you flowers!"

"As if, Oken," Lilly said, tossing a sock at Oliver. "You were so lovestruck with Hannah you missed all the hints we were sending your way!"

"Oh, and like you were thinking any more clearly?" Oliver quickly countered with. "Who was it I remember boosting up so she could climb in the window of Hannah Montana's dressing room?"

"Awww," Miley said in her loving voice as she cupped Lilly's left cheek with her right hand, "My wife's first stalker moment with me, all those years ago," getting a prolonged giggle from Lilly at her crack.

"Well, if you'd told me earlier, I wouldn't have put Oliver's back out for two days by jumping off of him to reach the window," Lilly said playfully.

"We did what we did," Miley said as she lifted her arms, lacing her hands around the back of Lilly's neck as she looked into her new wife's eyes. "No regrets, no changes."

"Things worked out for the best," Lilly said, nodding her head in agreement. She then realized that they had essentially tuned everyone else around them out during their little chat. "Oops, sorry everyone. I just get so, um, tuned into Miley when we're talking that--"

Miley's fingers on Lilly's lips shushed her explanation. "They know, hon," she said sweetly. "They know." As one they turned to look at Kaela again, awaiting her reaction. However, they were still taken aback at her response.

"You two are full of shit!" Kaela said, her voice such that neither of them could tell if she was really angry or not. However, her tossing her shoes at them, prompting them to both duck and cover their heads, gave them their answer: she had only lightly tossed the shoes rather than truly zinged the makeshift missiles at them, so Miley and Lilly figured she was more amused than irate. Kaela jumped to her feet and fell on the two of them, tickling both of them at the same time, using her long arms to fullest advantage. Jackson rescued his sister and sister-in-law by grabbing Kaela by the waist and pulling her off of them, leaving the two of them a gasping jumble of limbs on the love seat. As he held Kaela back, she started laughing and said, "Okay, that was a kick-ass prank!" She looked around, then said, "I really hope you didn't rent this plane just to tell me that! That would be going too far just to play a joke on someone!" She turned to Jackson and said, "Were you in on this too, Jackson?" Then she turned a bit more pale and said, "Don't tell me you rented this plane to propose to me!"

However, instead of the amused expression she expected to see on his face, only seriousness was there. "They're not joking or playing a prank on you, Kae," he said. "They're telling you the truth."

Lilly helped Miley back up, then she stood and walked over to her father, Miley right behind her, still holding her hand. "Daddy, I hope you're not angry with us for not telling you sooner," Lilly said as they reached her father. "The only reason we told Mom already was that we figured she'd recognize the engagement ring I gave Miley if she saw any closeups of it on TV or in a magazine." She hesitated as her father remained silent for long seconds, then he turned to look at his wife.

"So, are you really Joan Jett?" Phil asked his wife, getting a playful smack on the forearm for his joke. As a chuckle went around the cabin, he turned to Lilly and Miley. "I can certainly see why you girls kept this a secret," he said. "After seeing some of the scenes that follow celebrities today, I think it's very wise of you two to fight to keep your private lives truly private. I would never do anything to risk that, I promise you." He motioned for the two of them to come over and gave both of them a hug. While he was holding them, he said softly, "So can I get some tickets to your next concert for some of my friends at work?"

Lilly said, "Daddy!" in not-so-mock outrage, but Miley just grinned and said, "I think we can work something out, Mr. Truscott." She turned to look at Lilly and said, "Your daughter can be very persuasive when she puts her mind to it," triggering a blush from Lilly.

As Phil released them from his grip, the two girls walked back over to Kaela and looked down at her, now seated on a footstool across from Jackson. She looked up and said, "It's really true?"

Miley and Lilly nodded somberly. As Miley looked into Kaela's eyes, she could see flashes of true hurt, something she was afraid of but had hoped wouldn't be there. "C'mere," she said to Kaela as she took both the redhead and Lilly by the hands and walked back to the rear compartment of the cabin.

As they entered the room, Miley led the way in, with Lilly closing the door behind them softly. Miley turned and said, "Kaela, I'm really, really sorry we didn't tell you earlier, but Lilly and I had decided to wait until this trip. Honestly, we didn't know Jackson was going to propose to you right now."

Lilly stood beside Miley and added, "We realized last night that you needed to know these things, Kae. That's why we told you about Luanne, and that's why we're telling you about Hannah and Lola." She reached out and placed her hand on Kaela's left shoulder, squeezing lightly. "You're going to be our sister, probably sooner rather than later, and we trust you as much as anyone. Heck, I hadn't even told my dad about being Lola. You just saw that."

Miley looked forlorn. "Kaela, I hope you can understand why we didn't tell you until now. I really do."

Kaela looked up and smiled, even though a few tears marred its appearance. "I do understand," she said. "And I forgive you for not telling me sooner." She sat on the side of the bed inside the smaller compartment. "Heck, after seeing some of the craziness you two have to put up with, I'm not sure I'd tell anyone the truth." She paused for a minute, then she slowly said, "Oh!" She looked at Miley and said, "You proposed to her! On Oprah! In front of the whole country!"

Lilly grinned. "Yep, she sure did," she said, beaming with pride in her wife. "And let me tell ya, _that_ was a surprise!"

"You've both met Oprah!" Kaela said, her voice's pitch rising.

"Yeah," Miley said as she sat beside Lilly. "She's really sweet. She was great to us."

"I hope she comes to the wedding," Lilly said offhandedly.

"I think she is," Miley said. "We got her RSVP back, and it said two were attending."

"Can I meet her?" Kaela said, suddenly excited even more.

Miley and Lilly looked at each other for a second or two. "That might be possible," Lilly said, dragging it out as long as she could. For her teasing, Kaela popped her in the back of the head with a pillow. "Okay, I think we can do that, for Hannah's personal assistant," she said with a wink at Kaela. "Hope you brought a nice dress," she added with a naughty smirk.

After not quite two hours, the airplane landed at Orlando International Airport. As the airplane came to a halt inside one of the private hangars, a group of limousines waited for the passengers to disembark. The first passengers to exit the plane were Ruthie Stewart, Dolly Stewart and Phil and Meredith Truscott, all wearing their dress clothes but otherwise unchanged. The four of them went into one limousine, which whisked them off to the wedding ceremony. Next off were Jackson, Kaela, Oliver, Luanne and Robbie Ray. Robbie Ray, Jackson and Oliver all had their regular disguises, although Oliver had toned his Mike Stanley outfit down for the wedding and Robbie Ray and Jackson were wearing new suits just for the ceremony. Luanne simply put on her dressy gray business suit, her wire-rimmed glasses and made sure to carry herself just a touch smartly; she was posing as Lola's personal assistant today. As for Kaela, her fiery hair had been pulled up and back, held in place with two bright pink hair sticks. She was wearing an emerald green business suit and skirt much like the one Luanne was wearing, plus her sunglasses. Her makeup had also been done differently than the usual minimalist look she preferred. Now her eyes had a smoky look to them, and her lipstick was significantly brighter, even though it remained a shade of pink, not red. They went into a second limousine, this one also bound for the wedding but taking them to a section much closer to the actual ceremony. With each of these five slightly disguised, Miley and Lilly felt it was safe enough to have them closer to the front and thus more likely to be photographed or videotaped.

Since Ruthie, Dolly, Phil and Meredith had no disguises, everyone agreed that they should be more removed from the possibility of winding up in some magazine where they could be recognized. It had been Lilly's idea to have them dress as members of the resort staff but not actually be required to do anything; that way they could all stay close but remain essentially invisible, as none of the paparazzi paid much attention to who actually worked at such events, only to those who attended them.

Finally disembarking from the plane were the two stars of the day. Miley and Lilly both made their way down the steps as Hannah and Lola, followed by Roxy. As the ground crew finished loading their bags into the limousine's trunk, they stepped into the cool luxury of the rear section of the limo, with Roxy climbing into the front of the limousine to give the two young women their privacy. Instantly Miley crawled into Lilly's lap, wrapping her lover in her embrace and claiming a deep, prolonged kiss as her prize. After they felt the limo gently start moving, they finally broke the kiss, which had left both young women slightly dizzy and needing air.

"Whoa," Lilly said as she closed her eyes in a vain attempt to stop the world from spinning.

"Yeah," Miley sighed contentedly as she tried to focus past the flashing lights swirling in front of her eyes. She breathed in deeply, then blew all the air out, willing herself to completely relax into her wife's embrace.

Lilly smiled as she felt Miley's breathing exercise take place. As Miley's muscles went slack, Lilly made sure to hold her tightly, kissing her on the temple as Miley sunk further into her grip. "I've got you, lover," Lilly warmly whispered into Miley's ear.

"Mmm, promise to not let me go," Miley purred.

"I promise." Lilly's promise was sealed with another kiss to Miley's temple, an act that resulted in Miley willing some energy back into her right arm so she could reach up and stroke Lilly's right cheek as they rode to the wedding ceremony.

As the limousine made its way through the Orlando traffic, Miley and Lilly sat leaning against each other as they held hands, enjoying the scenery outside the window. "You know," Lilly said, "I've never been to Disney World. Well, on a vacation. I mean, we flew down last month for the rehearsal at the resort, but we were only here for a few hours, plus we really didn't go to any of the theme parks, and--" Miley's fingers on her lips silenced Lilly abruptly.

Miley grinned but didn't look at Lilly as she said, "I know. That was one of the reasons we wanted to come here, remember?"

Lilly rested her head on Miley's shoulder as she said, "I'm glad I get to share it with you."

Now Miley did turn to look at her partner. "Sweetheart, I'll share anything you ever want with you. I swear. You're my best friend, my lover..." She grinned and bit her lower lip slightly. "And now you're my wife."

Lilly sighed happily as she said with a low voice, "It's going to take a lot of time to get you to behave, you know."

"Can't be done," Miley said as she kissed Lilly. After a few seconds, she pulled back slightly and added, "Well, maybe for you," a grin crossing her face as she spoke.

"I don't give up," Lilly added as she shifted her arms to better hold Miley close. "Not when it comes to you."

As they neared the entrance to the Grand Floridian Resort, they could see news vans lining the road, even this far out. "Whoa," said Lilly.

As they reached the entrance to the Grand Floridian Resort, police had cordoned off several lanes of traffic to permit cars to pass through without hitting any of the swarm of reporters, videographers, photographers or bystanders. Even Miley had never seen such a teeming crowd. "Double whoa," she softly said as the police directed the limousine into the resort.

The original plans for the wedding had been to hold it at the Wedding Chapel on the grounds of the Grand Floridian. Miley and Lilly had looked at it online exhaustively and finally flew down last month to personally inspect it, deciding it was beautiful. However, their control over the guest list had been fleeting at best, and the number of guests had grown steadily for the last four weeks. Finally the girls had realized the ceremony was just too big for the glistening white wedding chapel, and they had changed the venue for the ceremony to Cinderella's castle. Or rather, the area just in front of Cinderella's castle. Miley and Lilly would stand for the ceremony at the entrance to the arched path passing through the castle, with the wedding guests behind them. Seats would be provided for a few hundred guests, and a stage in front of the castle had been set up to provide music and performances following the ceremony for dancing.

To minimize disruption of the ceremony, an idea to close the Magic Kingdom theme park for exactly one hour during the ceremony had been floated. The idea had lasted for one day before Lilly considered what might go through a child's mind if she or he were asked to leave the Magic Kingdom so Hannah and Lola could have their wedding. The possibility of upsetting any child's dream of seeing the Magic Kingdom had moved Lilly to tears, scaring Miley for a few seconds until Lilly could explain what had upset her so badly. The more the two of them had thought about it, the more they realized they couldn't live with disrupting any child's trip to Disney World, even for just an hour. And so closing the park had ceased to be an option.

Instead, it was decided to close off part of the area in front of the castle to allow for seats, equipment and decorations to be assembled. The area chosen for the ceremony was a prime viewing spot to begin with, and interested onlookers could have excellent views of the ceremony from several different spots around the center of the theme park. Guests and the wedding party would still have their own space in the immediate vicinity, but this way the wedding would truly be one for the public.

As the limo pulled up to the lobby entrance, Miley looked at Lilly. "Check?" she asked.

Lilly smiled, her bright pink wig making her lips appear rosy, even with nothing more than a simple lip gloss applied. "Check," she replied. "Boogies?" she asked, leaning her head back for Miley to check her nose, then doing the same for Miley.

"Breath?" Miley added, as they both huffed, then sniffed. While they were keenly aware that the other's breath smelled quite fresh, the pattern had become a habit for them.

"Pits?" Lilly finished as they lifted their arms as much as the roof allowed, noting that no deodorant showed under any arm.

"Perfect!" they said together, quickly kissing as the right door opened.

"Miss Montana, Miss Luftnagle, welcome to Disney's Grand Floridian Resort!" said a young man wearing an outfit from the early twentieth century, complete with knickers, a newsboy cap, and the standard white and pink striped Grand Floridian uniform.

"Thank you!" Lilly said cheerfully as she stepped out of the limousine then turned to help Miley out. As soon as Lola's pink wig appeared, flashes began firing from all directions. As Hannah's blonde hair likewise came into sight, the frequency of the flashes nearly doubled.

"Hello girls!" called Cameron, the event coordinator for the wedding. Miley and Lilly had finally met her when they flew down last month, and they had both been impressed by the tiny blonde's fiery personality. The previous coordinator had simply not clicked with either Miley or Lilly, and they had quickly asked that Cameron, who had been assisting, be elevated to their event coordinator. She had been quite frank with them that this would be the biggest event she had ever planned and supervised, but they were just fine with that. For the day they had been here, they had practiced the entire ceremony, although they had practiced for the wedding chapel, not the theme park. However, Cameron had assured them the ceremony would translate effortlessly.

"Hey Cameron!" Miley said, shaking the smaller woman's extended hand first with Lilly doing the same immediately after. "We ready to rock?"

"Yes we are," Cameron said. She handed Miley a small cloth bag tied with a single drawstring. "Here are your room keys. They're under the disguise names the two of you chose last month. How did you choose those particular ones?"

Lilly looked at Miley and winked. "They were two friends of ours we met in California," she said with a straight face. She opened the soft bag that Miley handed to her, looking at the names on the plastic cards. "Miley Truscott," she said, reading the first and then the second, "and Lilly Truscott." She looked up at Miley and playfully said, "Now which one am I again?" As Miley rolled her eyes, Lilly said, "Oh yeah! I'm Lilly," with a positively wicked grin. She shifted to look over at Cameron. "Looks perfect."

The pixieish blonde grinned. "Let's get you two married," she said, leading them inside and through the elegant main lobby of the resort. They hurried, as now they were on a schedule. Keeping pace with the surprisingly quick Cameron, Miley and Lilly soon found themselves waiting for the monorail. As they walked to the farthest section of the waiting area for Disney World's private monorail, Cameron looked at her watch. "They'll start seating guests soon." She looked up at the two women with her, both several inches taller than her. "We already have your dresses, makeup, shoes, everything, all ready to go inside the castle. Once we get into the Magic Kingdom we'll take a ride underground to go directly to the castle without having to brave all the crowds."

A whooshing noise heralded the arrival of the monorail. As the sleek white train with a soft magenta stripe running its length entered the station, a rush of air preceded it through the waiting area. As the doors opened, Miley, Lilly and Cameron all stepped onto the train. The section they were in, directly behind the pilot, was a private section, so they were still alone as the doors started to close. The train lightly lurched forward, quickly building speed as it rushed toward their destination.

As the monorail pulled into the station, Miley and Lilly could see a large crowd of visitors waiting to board the monorail. As the exit doors on the other side opened, they stepped off into a phalanx of Disney employees. The employees presented a living screen for Miley and Lilly, but even with their best efforts, by the time they reached the ground level they had been spotted.

"Hannah! Hannah!" and "Lola! Lola!" came from the multitude of kids and teenagers within shouting distance. Miley and Lilly waved to everyone, but they knew they had to hurry to keep the schedule.

"We can't stop right now, but you can come watch the wedding!" Miley called out to the crowd as they kept a brisk pace. Quickly they reached a door, entering as one of the employees tapped in a code. Cameron led them down a ramp until they reached a small cart in a tunnel.

"Time for a ride!" Cameron said as she and the two brides sat down on one of the bench seats. Immediately the cart took off, speeding down the surprisingly well-ventilated tunnel. In minutes they were underneath Cinderella's castle. Cameron disembarked and hurried over to an elevator, where she inserted a key into a lock. "This elevator goes up to an apartment in the top of Cinderella's castle. That's where we set up your clothes." She checked her watch. "We're right on schedule," she proclaimed with a smile, as the elevator dinged. She held the door open for Miley and Lilly to step in first, then she stepped in and pressed an unmarked button on the panel near the door.

When the elevator door next opened, Miley and Lilly were both speechless as they stepped off the elevator. They were looking at a beautifully decorated apartment, done in soft pinks and blues, complete with a sitting room, bathroom and even a bedroom that could be seen through an open door. "Oh my gosh, I never knew this was up here!" Miley said.

"Most people don't," a voice from behind them said, startling the two young women. They turned to see an unexpected guest.

"Um... Cinderella?" Lilly said hesitantly as she took in a young woman who appeared to be in her mid to late twenties, her blonde hair tightly pulled up and topped with a tiara. She was wearing a full-length sky blue ballroom gown and clear heels. As Lilly spoke, the woman smiled and tipped her head.

"That would be me," Cinderella said. "Welcome to my castle."

Miley smiled as she looked at Lilly. She turned to Cinderella. "Well, uh, thanks for letting us use your, um, apartment to get ready for the wedding."

"Of course," Cinderella said with a smile. "If you dears will excuse me, I need to go greet some of our guests downstairs." She stepped over and lightly kissed first Miley, then Lilly on the forehead. "Best wishes and my blessings on your marriage," she said as she stepped past them and onto another elevator beside the one they had ridden up in.

"Okay, that was weird," Lilly said as the door to the elevator closed.

"Yeah, she was really into character," Miley said, still looking at the elevator with Lilly.

"Who's to say she wasn't really Cinderella?" Cameron said with a wink as she took the girls each by an arm. "Now come on, it's time to get you in your dresses!"

Getting ready took less than thirty minutes, which Cameron claimed was the least amount of time she had ever seen spent on this part of a wedding here. With both girls' hair really being wigs, nothing needed to be done to them, and they had each decided to wear only minimal makeup and their regular lip gloss. The majority of time spent was on getting the Vera Wang gowns on, adjusting the skirts, putting on the white stockings and finally the white pumps. Their gowns were both originals, designed as mirror images to each other and created at the same time from the same bolt of material, as Miley and Lilly had requested. Each had only a single shoulder strap which flowed into a small choker at the neckline, with Miley's gown covering her right shoulder and Lilly's her left. The gowns were simple and smooth, made of sleek silk with only minimal decoration. The skirts were likewise slightly asymmetrical, with Miley's right side of the skirt slightly longer than the left and Lilly's the exact opposite. The skirts at their lowest points reached to the knee, and both young women were wearing sheer white stockings under the skirts, with white pumps to match. The gowns themselves were a very delicate off-white, again at the girls' request. The lightest tint of pink could be seen in the gowns' fabric, creating a slight contrast between the gowns and the veils, stockings and shoes, which were all a pristine white.

As Miley adjusted her veil, Cameron came into the room she was using. "You ready?" the blonde asked.

Miley nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

"You know, most people are nervous at this point."

Miley turned to Cameron and smiled. "I'm not most people," she replied.

"And thank heavens for that," came Lilly's voice from outside the room. "Because I wouldn't be doing this for just anybody!'

"No, just for the woman you love," Miley said.

"Right on, girlfriend!" Lilly said from the next room, getting a giggle from Miley.

Cameron smiled at the playful banter. "Alright Hannah, I'm going to take Lola on down and get her set, then I'll be right back up for you. Okay?"

Miley nodded again as she looked into the mirror one more time. Cameron patted her on the right shoulder as she stepped out of the room. "See you downstairs, sweetheart!" Miley called out.

"You too, hon. Love you!"

"Love you!" Miley listened as the elevator door opened, then closed several seconds later. She stepped out into the large living room of the secret apartment, moving over to a tall, thin window. She suspected the glass was treated to make it quite difficult to look into the apartment from outside, but she was able to see out easily. From this particular vantage point, she could see a large crowd of people packing the areas below, obviously waiting on the ceremony.

Miley swallowed as she thought back to a similar scene almost a year and a half ago, the morning after she and Lilly had proposed to each other. Then it had been Las Vegas and the crowds were even larger, but today she felt some of the same concerns. Was this going to be too much for Lilly to deal with? Would things work out? Could they keep their real lives secret from the crush of the media?

She smiled as she turned away from the window. "We can do it," she said softly. "We can deal with anything, as long as we're together." She moved toward the elevator, eager to have this ceremony completed. There was a honeymoon just waiting to begin.

As Miley stepped off the elevator with Cameron, she was replaying the rehearsal in her mind. She and Lilly had practiced it several times on their own, and she knew the two of them would do fine. They had left behind several of the more traditional elements of a typical wedding ceremony, but this way the ceremony felt right. Plus, they were already legally married; this ceremony was really for show, but her record company had insisted on having this celebration. Not that she and Lilly were complaining about spending their honeymoon in Disney World, but the two of them had felt better with some of their own plans that were being carried out this weekend, plans that neither the record company or the media had found out about yet.

"Okay, Hannah, let's get into position," Cameron said, pointing the way down a covered tunnel that had been erected aboveground to provide a way for her to get to the rear of the assembly without being seen yet. As they walked, Miley could hear the words of the ceremony's officiant over the loudspeakers.

When the subject of exactly who should preside over the ceremony had been reached, initially there was some confusion. While Disney World certainly had ministers who handled commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples already, this wasn't exactly such an event. For one thing, the girls would already be legally married, and further muddying the waters was the fact that the two of them weren't going to be using their legal names. The sheer amount of media coverage was also intimidating, with an equal amount of potential officiants both eagerly wanting the position as well as asking to _not_ be considered. In the end, Lilly had hit upon the perfect solution. "Isn't this place called the Magic _Kingdom_? Why not just let the King pick somebody to do it?"

Miley smiled as she reached her "ready" position. She looked at the simple bouquet of flowers in her hands, white roses, pink roses, and red roses, signifying the stages of hers and Lilly's relationship: purity, friendship, and love. She grinned as she looked across the open space between the mouth of her tunnel and the mouth of Lilly's. Standing in that other tunnel was her young wife, equally eager to have this ceremony underway. Miley took in Lilly's nervous fidgeting, and she reflected that even with all that the two of them had already seen and done, this was elevating them to a whole new level of spectacle. Even Miley herself was slightly nervous. But as she felt the gnawing anxiety build in her chest, she looked up and saw Lilly smile and blow her a kiss.

The simple act of love and comfort instantly quelled the jangling nerves deep inside, and Miley felt herself relax. She blew a kiss back to Lilly, knowing that it gave Lilly as much comfort in return. And then she heard the voice calling, "Who comes seeking to join into a union of love and commitment?"

Miley swallowed and stepped out of the tunnel as Lilly did the same. As they both emerged, the "royal" band on the nearby stage played the traditional wedding march music. The two young women walked toward each other until they met in the center of the aisle on the red carpet, then they turned to the officiant's platform so that Miley was on the right and Lilly was on the left, linked hands with their bouquets on the outside for each girl, and then they walked forward to the platform.

While both Miley and Lilly knew the seats were filled with Hannah's and Lola's acquaintances and many other celebrities, neither of them could remember anyone on either side of the aisle. All either of them could focus on was how beautiful the other looked and the wedding area ahead of them, lined by a ring of roses strewn directly onto the stone walkway. As they stopped just outside the ring of flowers, the ceremony's officiant, wearing a white and purple "royal" uniform, called out, "Who gives these two women away?"

Miley clearly said, "We give ourselves away," prompting a few giggles around the crowds watching, both in the audience and among the throngs of onlookers watching from across the waterways surrounding the castle.

Lilly smiled and tried not to laugh as she added, "We make our own decisions about our lives, and we have chosen to give ourselves freely to each other."

The officiant smiled and loudly said, "Then as Royal Magistrate to King Mickey, I ask that you leave behind your lives as individuals and enter the ring of joining."

Miley and Lilly smiled as attendants stepped forth and gently took their bouquets and veils, letting the two of them now hold hands with both sets of hands as they stepped into the ring of roses, orienting to face each other. Miley mouthed, _Love you_, to Lilly, getting an _I love you too_ in return as the magistrate began speaking again.

"Do you, Hannah Montana, take this woman Lola Luftnagle to be your partner now and forever, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

Miley looked into Lilly's eyes. "I do, now and forever." They had both decided to add this last phrase to indicate that neither of them had any intention of ending their union when one or both of them died. They wanted to truly be together forever, in life and in the afterlife, whatever it may be for them.

Lilly felt her eyes start to tear. _This is silly! I mean, we're already married, for heaven's sake!_ But then she realized that while she and Miley _were_ already married, Hannah and Lola _weren't_. She and Miley were very careful to keep those personae separate from whom they both truly were, so in a way Hannah and Lola still needed to be married. And it seemed oddly appropriate for those two fictional characters whose very existence was a dream, a fairly tale of a sort, to be united in the center of a place dedicated to fulfilling dreams and making wishes come true.

As the magistrate spoke, "Lola?" Lilly again focused on the woman that she loved both as Lola and as herself. As she looked at Miley, she felt immense joy, and pride, and anticipation at this final union that Lilly now realized they both needed. She nodded, signaling that she was ready to proceed, getting a squeeze of her hands from Miley, who herself was now tearing up.

The magistrate smiled as he spoke, "Do you, Lola Luftnagle, take this woman Hannah Montana to be your partner now and forever, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

And then Lola, not just Lilly, looked into the eyes of Hannah, not just Miley, and said, "I do. Now and forever."

The magistrate smiled again as Lola and Hannah both extended their left arms, showing him their rings. He raised his arms and said, "Since you have now dedicated yourselves to each other by the exchanging of vows and rings, as the Royal Magistrate of King Mickey, I hereby declare you Hannah and Lola Montana, wifes now and forever!" He paused, then said with just a hint of humor in his voice, "You may now rock the world."

Hannah and Lola both smiled and then kissed, deeply, as they put their arms around each other and held on tightly as the thunderous roar of applause and cheers rang out across the entire Magic Kingdom. After long seconds spent kissing, the two young women pulled back and looked into each other's eyes as the din of cheering continued unabated.

"I love you, Hannah," Lola said with a smile

"I love you too, Lola," Hannah replied. They joined hands again and turned to wave to the formerly seated audience, then they waved to the crowds lining the waterways on both sides of the castle. They knew there were photographers all around them, but no flashes were needed today, as the sun was surprisingly brilliant for a November afternoon. They stepped out of the circle of roses and slowly walked down the ramped walkway until they were in front of the stage set up to their left. The "royal band" was already moving most of their equipment off, and decidedly more modern musicians were setting up their own equipment.

Miley had worried for weeks about singing to Lilly at the wedding. While she was absolutely going to do it, she didn't want to miss the first dance with her bride. Indeed, this _would_ be their first dance together, as they never really had one following their first wedding earlier in the morning. As they reached the stage, Miley helped Lilly up the steps as they made their way to the microphone. Miley looked off to the sound engineer beside the stage, getting a nod in reply. She spoke into the microphone, "Wow, thanks to everyone for being here and making us feel really, really special today. I promise that I will be singing some for my new wife, but not just yet. My place is with her in our first dance right now, and a good friend of mine is going to sing for us while we dance. I think most of you already know her, because she's an amazing singer and an amazing woman, plus she's been a great friend of ours for some time now. Ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Kelly Clarkson!"

As Kelly stepped forward, Miley and Lilly both walked toward her and hugged her as one. "You two scoot off the stage now," Kelly said with a wink. "Time for your dance." Her eyes were still a bit red, signaling that she had been moved by the ceremony too. "Congratulations Hannah, Lola. Always knew you two were somethin' else."

"Thank you so much, Kelly," Miley said with a smile.

"We really appreciate you coming," Lilly added.

"Hey, I wouldn't miss this for the world," Kelly said. "Now go!" she added, making little shooing motions with her hands.

Miley and Lilly both hurried down the steps. As they took their position, ready to dance, haunting notes from a piano began playing a familiar tune. Then Kelly's voice slowly sang, "_Highway run... into the midnight sun_," beginning Journey's song "Faithfully."

As Kelly sang and the music played, Miley softly sang along to Lilly, trying to not get choked up from emotion. However, several times she had to just skip a line or two and hold her wife tightly, as the tears would overcome her temporarily. Lilly's eyes were likewise full of tears, and when Miley opened her mouth to apologize for not being able to get the words out, Lilly interrupted her by kissing her. When she pulled back, she quietly said to Miley, "It's okay, sweetheart," giving her a loving smile that made everything better. "You've already sung it to me a hundred times before, we've lived it every day, and we'll continue to live it forever." Lilly closed her eyes and leaned in, resting her head against the left side of Miley's neck. "Thank you for loving me," Lilly said as tears escaped her own eyes and ran down Miley's neck.

Miley took a moment to gather herself as the emotional song ended. She rubbed Lilly's back and said, "You're welcome, sweetheart, but it's easy to love you. I'm the one who's hard to love, so I should be the one thanking you." Lilly lifted her head and Miley kissed her lips. "So thank you."

Lilly smiled as she gazed deeply into Miley's gorgeous eyes, a cobalt blue at the moment. "You are kinda hard to love at times," she said with an impish grin that revealed clearly how big a tease that statement was. "Honey, you are the most amazing person I've ever met, man, woman, boy, girl, whatever. Every day of my life I'm going to thank God for making us the way He did, because we're made just for each other."

Miley's reply was cut short when Kelly started singing the next song, Hannah's "Bigger than Us." Lilly laughed at the surprising song choice, with Miley looking up at the stage and saying, "That brat. I'm gonna get her _so_ good!"

"I think it's sweet," Lilly said, forestalling any further mischief from her wife. "So, when are you gonna get your cute butt up there?"

Miley looked back at Lilly, losing herself in Lilly's beauty, absolutely radiant today. "As soon as you say I can."

"Well then, in that case, finish this dance with me, and then get up and rock the house, girlfriend," Lilly said.

"I think we're officially past the girlfriend stage," Miley said with a grin.

Lilly smiled back. "Oh, I don't think so," she said. "We're always going to be girlfriends, just like we're always going to be best friends, and lovers, and now wives. We're gonna have it all, hon!"

Miley's smile grew even bigger. "Sounds perfect to me," she said, ending her sentence with a kiss for her wife. "Okay, I need to get up there," she said, hesitant to release Lilly from their embrace.

"Go on, Hannah," Lilly said as she gently steered Miley to the steps. "Your audience is waiting."

Miley finally released Lilly and hurried up the steps as Kelly finished the song, much to the delight of the crowds. As she stepped away from the microphone stand, Miley hugged her again. "Thanks, Kel."

"You're welcome, Hannah," Kelly said as she turned back to the microphone and said, "Thank you!" to the crowd. "And congratulations again to our newlyweds!" She turned and walked off the stage, leaving Miley on stage.

Miley looked at the massive crowds, taking a moment to just enjoy this. As she looked down at Lilly, resplendent in her wedding gown and attire, she thought again about how fortunate she was. So many things had happened over the years that had led them to this place and time. Now, it was time to celebrate both what they had already achieved and what awaited them in the years to come. "Thank you to everyone for coming out to wish us well! Lola and I both offer you our heartfelt thanks." Applause began as Miley raised her voice and continued, "Now we want all of you to share in our happiness." She raised her voice and yelled, "Are you ready to dance?" Yells from all around went up, signaling everyone's eagerness to continue. Miley said, "Then here's a slow one you can sing along to while you dance. Lola, this one's for you, sweetheart, as much today as it was all those months ago."

The band began playing "As I Am," which Miley had decided weeks ago to sing for Lilly today. As she sang the lyrics she had rewritten a year and a half ago, she thought about what this song meant for her and Lilly. It was this very song that Miley used to publicly declare her love for Lilly back then, so it was only appropriate for her to sing the same song at their wedding reception.

As she finished "As I Am," Miley thought about her next song and decided to let the set list she had planned out go. After all, they had plenty of other musicians who were going to be performing today. She grinned at the crowd, then looked down at Lilly and winked. "Okay, I was planning on singing a few more songs today, but my place today really isn't up here on this stage. It's down there with the woman I love. So I'm gonna do one more song for everyone, and I expect all of you to rock this one out!" As the audience cheered, Miley gave Lilly a thumbs-up, then she looked back out into the audience. "For anyone out there who has a dream, who wants something but is too scared to act on it, trust me. Take a chance. Sometimes dreams do come true." She turned to look at her band and nodded. As they started the music to No Doubt's "Just a Girl," Miley looked out into the audience and said, "Gwen, thanks for this song. This one's for all the girls out there!"

As Miley sang, she felt the energy of her happiness power her singing and dancing, infusing energy into her body as she performed. Whenever she stole a look at Lilly, she felt another surge of electricity throughout her body. As amazing as the thought was, Miley thought that she was even more in love with Lilly today than she had been yesterday, and more yesterday than the day before that. She smiled as she wrapped her mind around that thought. Tomorrow was yet to come.

**Author's Afterword:** One more chapter left in this story, I think. If you're wondering where the protesters are, because there always seem to be a few around no matter the cause, you're going to find out soon. Now it's time to start thinking about the next story. I've had one reader request a story with our heroines in college, which could be pretty fun. Other ideas for time frames would be around the birth of one of their children, high school graduation, maybe even a senior trip! For an even later story setting, watching our two mommies deal with their own children in school could be interesting as well. Anyway, let me know your ideas for a time setting for the next story! Hopefully the next chapter won't take another two weeks to finish, but all I can promise is to do my best. The stories come out on their own terms; I just guide them. See you soon!

-- Jo --


	7. Chapter 7: Sweet Surrender

**Author's Note: **Ooooh, all sorts of good suggestions for the next story! But first, I'm really happy that everyone seemed to enjoy the weddings. Those were some of the hardest chapters I've had to write, but I thought both ceremonies turned out very well. One reader, **alphaMilca**, mentioned some interest in who some of the other performers at Hannah and Lola's wedding were. Well, I had actually thought about that myself, and the set list I had come up with included the wonderful _Kelly Clarkson_ (as seen in the last chapter), _Paramore_ (who performed "Brighter," "Hallelujah," and "Miracle"), _Gwen Stefani_ _and No Doubt_ ("It's My Life" and "Spiderwebs"), _Flyleaf_ ("There For You"), _Sophie B. Hawkins_ ("Only Love") and ending with _U2_ ("All I Want Is You," "Everlasting Love," and "Ultraviolet"). Even in a dream world I don't think I could get _Veruca Salt_ and _Nina Gordon_ back together, but they'd have been a great addition as well. I miss the sound of them together. There are several other bands that would be great as well, but the ones above are the ones who made the most sense to me.

Some of the other reviews were very touching to me. **J.S. Jamesbrooke**, your review in particular was very heartfelt. You've gotten exactly what I try to convey with Miley and Lilly, and you sum it up perfectly with your statement, "Love, no matter the form, is truly a gift." **Saiba** (aka **MiddiVampira**), I love your reviews because you're always so energetic! You also happen to be the first reviewer to suggest combining a senior trip with high school graduation, with several others voting for one or both of those settings. Therefore, that's going to be the setting for the next story, which I expect will be a rather long one. But afterwards I'm planning on continuing the series through different stages in their lives, so at some point there should be a college story, at least one pregnancy story, and at least one story with their child or children. That way everyone gets what they want! (Especially Miley and Lilly.) I also am intrigued by the suggestion of **Jd Midnight**, who thought a skiing trip would be an excellent setting for a senior trip. I can't ski for anything (although I fall pretty well), but that _does_ have a certain appeal to it... Finally, to _all_ my readers and reviewers, thank you much for following this story of our heroines. It's been my pleasure and an honor to have you all along for this joyous ride.

For my list of disclaimers, please see Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. I need to add several other names to the list of celebrities over whom I have no and make no claim, including Regis Philben, Kelly Ripa, and Dr. Laura Berman. Also, please exercise some common sense when reading this or any other story. _If you don't like it, then stop reading it!_

**As I Am, I Take Thee **

by Jo P.

Chapter 7: Sweet Surrender

_True friends will go to the ends of the earth_

_To find the things you need_

_Friends hang on through the ups and the downs_

_'Cause they've got someone to believe in_

--Hannah Montana;"True Friends"

After the wedding and private reception inside the restaurant on the second floor of Cinderella's castle, Cameron had taken them back to the secret apartment on a higher floor. Once there, they changed into more typical clothes, a light blue t-shirt and khaki capri pants for Miley and a red tank top with blue jean shorts for Lilly. They helped repack their wedding gowns and veils into the protective bags they came in, then they placed their shoes on the floor beside the bed. Lilly softly said to Miley, "What do we do with the wigs?"

Miley looked into the mirror, remembering that she and Lilly still had their wigs on. She slipped hers off and placed it in the protective silk bag she had in her rather large purse. "I guess we go ahead and take them off," Miley said, not seeing many other alternatives. They still needed Cameron to operate the locked elevator to take them down. She looked at Lilly. "I think we can trust Cameron. I mean, how the heck is she going to recognize us? Plus, she'd get in _huge_ trouble if she told anyone what we looked like. Oh, and how does she know these are really wigs?" she said, holding up the pink silk bag with Hannah's wig in it for emphasis. "As far as she knows, _these_ might be the wigs," she added, tugging slightly on her own curly chestnut brown hair.

Lilly pondered that thought for a few seconds, then she removed her pink Lola wig, dropping it into her own silk bag, this one lavender. "Good points." She replaced the wig bag in her purse then zipped the purse back up. She slung the black and pink bag over her shoulder and stepped into her pink Crocs. "You ready?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Miley, straightening out Lilly's wedding gown bag. "I just want them to be okay."

Lilly walked over to Miley and said, "Miles, Cameron is going to have them professionally stored and vacuum sealed, then she's going to have them shipped to our house, just like we already talked about last month. Like you said, we can trust her." As Miley turned and took Lilly's hand, Lilly added, "I like her. There's just something... spunky about her."

Miley grinned. "Yeah, like another blonde I know," she said as she opened the door to the bedroom.

"You ladies ready?" Cameron said, turning away from the window. She had changed from her dress into a blue Walt Disney World polo shirt and khaki shorts, but her energy still radiated like an aura. Not a word was said about the change in the girls' appearance, and Cameron's warm smile never so much as flickered.

"Yep," Miley said as Lilly nodded. "Thank you again Cameron, so, so much," Miley said, hugging their wedding coordinator.

Lilly likewise hugged Cameron, pushing Miley back into the hug as well. "Yeah, you did a terrific job!" she said happily. "Without you, things would have been a wreck."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Cameron said. "But thank you. I had a great time getting your wedding planned out and making sure it ran smoothly." She led them over to the elevator and pressed the button, with the door immediately opening. "But now I think I'll take about a week off," she said with a more mischievous grin as she stepped into the elevator and inserted her key, selecting the ground floor.

As Miley and Lilly laughed, Lilly added, "You've earned it." When the elevator stopped and the door opened, it revealed a shadowed section on the ground floor of Cinderella's castle. The three women stepped onto the stone floor of the castle, seeing the walkway through the castle a few yards in front of them. None of the many tourists passing through gave the women so much as a glance, which reassured Miley and Lilly tremendously. As they stood there for a minute, Cameron quietly said, "Shouldn't you two get started on your honeymoon?"

Miley and Lilly looked at each other and smiled. "Oh yeah," Miley said. "Everything's done. Nothing else we have to do."

"Woo hoo!" Lilly said, in a voice softer than she normally would use for a celebratory whoop. "And now I get you all to myself for three days!" She kissed Miley on the lips, then added, "That was a great idea to get the rest of our families rooms at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. That way we have our privacy while they still get to have a great time down here." As Lilly released Miley, they turned to look back at Cameron. "Thanks again," they both said together.

Cameron smiled back at them and said, "You two are going to have a great life." She gave them a little wave and took a few steps back, still facing them as she said, "And when you have kids, I fully expect you to bring them back down here and see me." She then turned and stepped back onto the elevator, waving as the doors closed, leaving Miley and Lilly by themselves in the little alcove.

Miley and Lilly watched the elevator doors for a few seconds, still smiling as they held each other. "She reminds me of somebody," Lilly said, squinting her eyes in concentration.

"Tinker Bell," Miley said proudly, turning and leading Lilly by the hand into a walk toward the park entrance.

"Yes!" Lilly said happily. "The hair, the personality, the spunkiness, it's all Tinker Bell!" She looked proudly at Miley. "Nice job," she said.

"I'd been trying to think of it for weeks when it finally hit me this afternoon," Miley said. "Right after we got up to the apartment to change."

"Well, you just saved me some brain cycles trying to think of it," Lilly said as she leaned against Miley for a few seconds while they walked, then she straightened back up while continuing to hold Miley's hand. "So now where are we going?"

Miley said, "I was thinking we should go make sure everything made it to our room."

Lilly said, "Yeah," drawing the word out over several seconds. "I think I know the other reason you want to go to the hotel room, Miles," she added with her sultry voice.

Miley smiled. "Well, that too."

"Good choice, Ste—" Lilly paused, then said, "I mean, Truscott." She laughed. "Sorry. Almost five years of habit there."

Miley thought it was cute. She pulled Lilly closer and said, "Whatever you want to call me, sweetheart, I'm still yours."

"Well, I like being able to call you Mrs. Truscott."

"Then Mrs. Truscott it is!" Miley said cheerily before she added, "Mrs. Truscott," with a grin, getting a bump from Lilly's shoulder in return.

After a monorail ride through the Contemporary and Polynesian Resorts, they arrived back at the Grand Floridian. As they disembarked with a handful of other resort guests, they made their way to the bungalow inside the resort where their suite was located. "Yay, we made it," Lilly said, pleased that they had made it to their room without anyone recognizing them. Lilly slid the key card into the card reader outside their hotel room door, smiling as she got a green light and a soft click after the reader acknowledged her card. She opened the door and very nearly stepped inside before Miley grabbed her arm.

"You forgetting something, Truscott?" Miley said, not releasing her grip on her wife's arm.

Lilly smacked herself on the forehead lightly. "Duh. Sorry Miles, it's been kind of a long day," she said, turning to smile at Miley.

Miley returned her smile and ran her free hand through Lilly's silky blonde hair. "It's okay, hon. But we're not gonna disrespect tradition!" Lilly grinned as Miley squatted slightly and grabbed Lilly by both thighs, lifting her wife up in a sitting position with them facing each other as Lilly wrapped her arms around Miley's body, holding on tightly. Miley tried not to laugh as she carried Lilly across the threshold into their hotel room, letting the door close behind them.

"Aren't you supposed to carry me sideways?" Lilly asked, a smirk on her face as Miley set her down carefully.

Miley gave Lilly a look that was supposed to indicate ambivalence as she said, "You're across the threshold, aren't you?" However, she could only hold the serious face a few seconds before Lilly leaned forward and began tickling her, getting squeals of laughter from Miley. Miley quickly recovered enough composure to push Lilly toward the large king-sized bed, covered in a soft pink and white comforter. As Lilly fell backwards onto the bed, Miley followed up her counterattack by pouncing atop Lilly, straddling Lilly's torso. "I got you now," Miley said with relish.

Lilly looked up, her arms pinned by Miley's hands. "So what are you gonna do to me, Miles?" Lilly said, asking a question for which she already knew the answer. As Miley leaned forward, she released Lilly's arms and moved to her hands to gently grip the sides of Lilly's head. She tenderly kissed the woman to whom she had sworn her life and everything after. The kisses quickly escalated from tender to heated, and then from heated to sizzling as the passion inside the two _very_ mature seventeen-year-olds began to boil. Without any further words, Lilly began stripping Miley's t-shirt off, tossing it sideways as soon as it had cleared her head and arms. Miley started to do the same for Lilly's shirt until Lilly reached down and pulled her shirt off, dropping it on the bed above their heads. As they quickly shed their clothes between kisses, the two of them somehow managed to pull back the covers before they finally lost all restraint and gave in to their desires, mixing cries of passion with soft whispers of love as they consummated their marriage.

Some time later, Miley woke to a tickling sensation on her nose. "Mmm, stop, Lilly," she mumbled lightly. The tickling sensation intensified in response to her sleepy request, prompting her to open her eyes. As she did so, she saw Lilly beside her, leaning slightly over her face as she tickled Miley's nose with a few strands of her hair. Miley couldn't help but snicker at how cute Lilly looked, a look of concentration firmly on her face as she focused on her task.

"I see you're awake," Lilly said with a giggle. "You enjoy yourself back there, Miles?" Lilly asked with a lilt in her voice.

Miley smiled as she wrapped her right arm around Lilly, pulling her warm body back against Miley, settling perfectly against her side. "I enjoyed myself... a LOT," Miley said, emphasizing the last word dramatically. "You seemed pretty hot about it too, I think."

Lilly closed her eyes, shuddering as she remembered the searing heat accompanying Miley's fingertips as she ran them along Lilly's skin during their lovemaking. "You were setting me on fire just by touching me, Miley," she said, still slightly amazed. "I mean, you always send tingles down my skin by touching me, but it was like..."

Miley grinned. "Yeah, same for me too, Lil. And I'm sorry if I freaked you out when--"

"No!" Lilly said, opening her eyes back up. "You didn't freak me out at all, Miles, I swear. It felt really, really good."

"You sure?" Miley asked, concerned.

Lilly nodded. "Oh yeah," she confirmed. "In fact, maybe we should do that again on some other... special night."

Miley tried not to laugh at Lilly's attempt to not seem so eager. "What, like days that end in the letter -y?" she asked. As Lilly nodded her head again, her eyes sparkling, Miley laughed, finally letting go of all her worries, all her concerns for the time being.

As Lilly took in the happiness, the pleasure in her wife's laugh, she knew that all the stress of the last few months of planning the weddings had been worth it. Simply hearing Miley laugh so freely would have made almost anything worth doing, as far as Lilly was concerned. She reached up and lightly touched Miley's nose with the tip of her right index finger. "Miley, I don't think there's a way you could touch me that I wouldn't like."

"Except when I pinch your butt too hard on accident?"

Lilly winced in reflex. "Well, I still know you're doing it because you love me, and that it's an accident when you do it too hard." She leaned into Miley's caress as Miley slid her fingertips up and around Lilly's neck and cheek. "Mmmm, that feels good."

Miley tenderly kissed Lilly's soft lips, tasting a hint of Lilly's strawberry lip gloss mixed with the taste of Miley herself. "I totally agree," Miley said, savoring the taste of them together. "Want to go get in the hot tub?"

Lilly opened her eyes again, looking into Miley's matching ice-blue eyes. "That would feel really good, I bet," she said. She smiled as she added, "Whether we make out in it or not."

Miley's smile mirrored Lilly's as she said, "Well, we _are_ newlyweds, you know."

Minutes later, the two were leaving the large bungalow housing their suite and several other rooms. They walked quietly through the warm night air, the soft popping sound of their flip flops the only noise announcing their presence. While there were still quite a few people moving around the resort, no one so much as raised an eyebrow at the two young women holding hands as they weaved their way through the pool area until they reached the hot tub. The hot tub already held three girls and two boys, roughly their age but maybe a few years older, laughing as they talked among themselves.

Miley pulled a pool chair closer to the hot tub and placed their beach bag holding their room keys on it. She then took off her oversized t-shirt, revealing her bright electric blue bikini, as Lilly snatched two towels from a nearby towel cart. As Lilly handed the towels to Miley, she arranged them to cover their beach bag, but she managed to get a good look as Lilly took off her own t-shirt to show off her horizontally striped bikini, its baseline dark brown material highlighted with stripes of bright colors, including blue, pink, yellow, green, and orange. As Lilly tugged the shirt over her head, the muscles in her stomach slightly stood out. While not particularly visible when she wasn't trying to accentuate them, those muscles were still quite well-developed, and just a glimpse of them still made Miley's stomach leap into her throat. _You look SO hot_, Miley thought, then she smiled and laughed at herself. _Four years ago, I'd have freaked out at thoughts like that. But three years ago I was having them all the time about Lilly. And now I realize that my feelings like that for her are as natural as breathing for me._

"What is it, Miles?" Lilly said, having seen the expression on Miley's face.

Miley smiled and said, "Just thinkin' about how things change over time. And how sometimes that change can be so amazingly good that it seems like a dream."

Lilly smiled back and took Miley's hand. "C'mon," she said as she led Miley to the hot tub, "let's get in. There's a little chill in the air."

As Miley followed Lilly over and into the hot tub, she saw the others in the hot tub scoot slightly closer to each other, giving the newcomers their space. Miley sat next to Lilly, their shoulders and sides touching as they held hands under the water, which came up to partly cover their breasts where they were sitting.

"Hi!" Lilly said cheerily to the others, getting a few greetings in return. "Vacation?" she asked.

One of the young men, his dark hair cut close to his scalp, nodded and said, "Yeah, our classes don't start back until Wednesday."

The young brunette sitting beside him added, "This is our last night here, because we have to start driving back tomorrow. We all go to UNC Chapel Hill."

As Lilly spoke, Miley slipped her left arm around her wife, holding her even closer, which prompted Lilly to smile even more than usual. She let the fingertips of her right hand gently graze the top of Miley's thighs as she caressed her partner while leaning into her embrace. "UNC, that's North Carolina, right?" Lilly said, getting nods in return. "We're seniors now, trying to narrow down our choices for where to go to college. We brought our grades a lot over the last two years, trying to make sure we get our top choices for schools."

Another girl, this one a blonde, said, "We're all over the place with class standings. Particularly Jerry here," she said as she pointed at the second young man, "who's on the seven-year plan." The others laughed at her joke, including Jerry, whose wavy blonde hair would have looked right at home in California.

"Hey, I happen to like college!" he said in mock protest.

As everyone shared a laugh, the blonde asked, "Which schools are you two looking at?"

Lilly and Miley looked at each other briefly before Miley said, "Well, we're applying to several different schools. Right now it's USC, UCLA, Pepperdine and Stanford."

"And UT," Lilly added. She looked at the others and said, "Miley's brother starts at UT next year, plus her family's from Tennessee."

Miley said, "Well, some of that was to make Daddy happy."

"But we'd really prefer to stay close to home," Lilly continued. "We're from Malibu."

"Nice," said the young man with short dark hair. "Is the weather there like this all the time?" he asked, gesturing expansively with his hand.

Lilly laughed, sending shivers of happiness through Miley. "Pretty much. I had never even seen a _real_ snow until we went to Miley's Mamaw's last Christmas." She turned and looked at Miley and said, "Are we going back for Christmas this year?"

Miley smiled and said, "You want to?"

Lilly looked surprised. "Duh?" she said, feigning shock. "What do _you_ think, Miles? Of _course_ I want to go back and see your family for Christmas!" She smiled sincerely and softly said, "I had a great time there with you last year, and I plan on us making that a holiday tradition." She then leaned in and kissed Miley, lingering on her lips for a few seconds. As she pulled back and licked her lips, she and Miley noticed the hot tub had gone silent. They looked over at the five sitting across from them in the hot tub, all of whom were looking at them with expressions ranging from amusement to attraction.

Miley said with a smile, "We got married yesterday. This is our honeymoon."

Wanting to deflect any suspicion that they might be Hannah and Lola Montana, Lilly added, "We flew up to Niagara Falls to get married. It's legal in Canada." She saw a few nods as they considered that.

"That's cool," said the third girl, who had remained silent until now. Her hair was a rich black, pulled back into a ponytail. She leaned forward slightly and asked, "How long have you two been together?"

Miley felt Lilly stop running her fingers along her legs and instead grip her firmly under the water. _Uh oh._

Lilly leaned forward herself as she said, "We've been together two and a half years now." She looked directly into the other girl's dark eyes and added, "And we're exclusive. Now and forever." Her voice became firm and slightly icy as she made that point.

The other girl stopped easing forward at Lilly's words. "Okay," she said with a smile. "But you two are pretty cute." She leaned back, settling into her spot between the other four.

The brunette said, "Pay no attention to Tara," turning to look at the girl Lilly had just put the brakes on. "She's a bit oversexed."

Lilly's face remained resolute as she said, "I don't share. Not when it comes to my Miley." She settled into Miley's lap, allowing Miley to wrap her arms around Lilly as Lilly settled her head on Miley's right shoulder.

Miley couldn't help but glow as Lilly settled into her embrace. "And I don't share my Lilly, either," she said. "Never have, never will."

"Better not," Lilly mumbled softly against the soft skin of Miley's neck, getting a grin from Miley.

Miley kissed Lilly on top of the head, then she leaned back against the smooth wall of the hot tub, reveling in the sensation of the jets of warm water on her back and legs and the even warmer body she was holding.

"That is so hot," said Jerry with lust in his voice, prompting Miley and Lilly to open their eyes and look at the others in the hot tub with them. As they did so, they saw Jerry suddenly jump out of the hot tub, shouting wildly as he scrambled away from the water. "What the fuck did you do that for?" he yelled in Tara's direction.

Tara looked up at him and coldly said, "Because you were being an asshole!" She turned to look back at Miley and Lilly and smiled. "Grabbing a guy's balls and squeezing is a great way to get him to shut up," she said sweetly. "C'mon," she said to the others, "let's head back to the rooms."

As they got out of the hot tub, the others said good night to Miley and Lilly, leaving the two of them together in the hot tub. As the bubbles sputtered around them, the spray reflected some of the light around the hot tub platform, giving them a miniature light show as they relaxed. Lilly shifted her position so that she was faced more toward Miley, then she captured Miley's head with both hands and kissed her deeply. Miley continued to hold Lilly with her right arm, but her left hand began drifting until it brushed against Lilly's right breast. Miley then gently squeezed, getting a giggle from Lilly. "Tease," Lilly said with a laugh.

"Not me," Miley replied as she slid out from under Lilly, turning Lilly so she was in the same position Miley had just been in. Miley leaned forward and kissed Lilly hotly. Without any conscious thought, Lilly brought her arms up and around Miley's back, pulling Miley closer until they heard the voices of children approaching. Miley smiled as she pulled away from Lilly's lips, once again taking Lilly's hand under the cover of the bubbly, steamy water. She had just settled down beside Lilly in front of one of the more gentle jets of water when several little heads became visible as they approached the hot tub.

"Mom! There are already people in the hot tub!" one little boy who appeared to be about eight or nine called out.

A little girl beside him, roughly the same age, elbowed him as she pushed past him. "They're not people, Justin, they're _girls_! Get it right." Miley and Lilly tried not to laugh as the girl dropped her towel down next to the hot tub and slid in. She looked at the two young women already in the hot tub and said, "Hi! I'm Samantha."

Miley smiled back as she said, "Hi Samantha! I'm Miley, and this is Lilly." Lilly waved slightly with her free hand as she said, "Hello."

The boy splashed his way into the hot tub, much to the little girl's chagrin. "You got me wet, Justin!" she said, outraged.

"You're in a hot tub, Sam! Didja think about that?"

Samantha angrily sloshed water his way as she said, "I didn't want to get my _hair_ wet! Ooohhh!"

Before the boy could return fire, a woman who appeared to be in her early to mid thirties yelled, "Samantha! Justin! Behave yourselves!" She looked at Miley and Lilly, then turned back to the children. "I don't think these young ladies want to get caught in the crossfire of a water fight between you two."

"They're both so cute," Lilly said. "Are they brother and sister?"

Their mother nodded her head. "Fraternal twins, actually. They both turned nine last week, so I brought them here for their birthdays."

Miley looked at Lilly and saw something in her wife's eyes. Something hungry, and not just for Miley. "You ready to get something to eat, Lil?"

Lilly smiled and said, "You read my mind, Miles." She turned to the family across from them now. "Maybe we'll see you three around. We're here for the next few days."

Samantha's mother started to say something, but the excited girl cut her off. "So are we! And we heard people saying that Hannah Montana is staying here, too! I hope I run into her so I can get her autograph!" She turned to look more closely at Miley and Lilly. "You're not Hannah Montana, are you?" she said to Lilly.

Lilly and Miley both laughed. "No sweetie, I'm not," Lilly said. "Is it the blonde hair?" The little girl nodded. "Well, she can sing way better than me," Lilly said truthfully. She leaned forward and said in a quieter voice, "I heard that the front desk is taking names of children staying here, so that Hannah can give them an autograph or something else."

Samantha quickly turned to her mother. "Mommy! You have to call the front desk! Hannah Montana's gonna give me her autograph!"

Her mother looked at Miley and Lilly, prompting Miley to say, "It's true! Our, uh, housekeeper told us about it!"

"Well, I'll check with the front desk when we get back to the room," Samantha's mother said, getting a little clap and jump from Samantha.

"Good night, Samantha, Justin," Lilly said, then adding, "Good night," to their mother. Miley climbed out of the hot tub then turned to help Lilly out. She handed Lilly her towel and proceeded to dry herself off as Lilly did the same. As they wrapped the towels around their hair, they grabbed their shirts and beach bag, then set off for their room. With no conscious thought, they held hands as they walked down the gentle steps from the hot tub.

"You want to order room service?" Miley asked as they got closer to the building where their room was located.

"Yeah, that works," Lilly said. "Don't really feel like going anywhere tonight." She yawned, then added, "Kinda tired."

Miley smiled as she said, "We've had a full day, Lilly Bear. But it's been a great day."

Lilly looked into Miley's eyes as she said, "One of the best, Miley. One of the best."

As they reached their room, Miley reached into the bag and retrieved one of their cards. Once the door was unlocked, they stepped inside. After a quick rinse in the shower, bathing suits and all, they dried off again. Lilly found the room service menu and flipped through some of the choices. She walked into the bathroom where Miley was scrubbing her face. "What are you in the mood for, lover?" Lilly asked.

Miley gave her a knowing look, then she clarified, "Foodwise, you mean?" When Lilly grinned, Miley said, "I want you to have one of the best, juiciest steaks you've ever had. We _are_ celebrating, after all."

"Mmmm, that sounds great, Miley, but room service steaks can be pretty scary."

Miley took the menu from Lilly and walked over to the nightstand, where she dropped the menu behind the lamp. "This is where being a star can come in handy," she said. "You remember that number that Cameron gave us? The one we can use for 'special' requests?"

Lilly nodded. "I think so..."

Miley picked up the phone and dialed the number. Immediately a voice said, "_Yes, Mrs. Montana?_" Miley looked at Lilly and smiled as she said, "My wife and I would each like a great steak dinner, please, but we're really tired from all we had to do today, and we just want to enjoy it in our suite."

"_Certainly! Where would you like your steaks from, and how would you like them prepared?_"

"The restaurant here would be great, and we each like our steaks medium rare. Oh, and can we get the full meals, please? You know, the bread, vegetables, plus some water and juice to drink?"

"_Of course, Mrs. Montana! We'll have it over there as soon as possible. Is there anything else we can do for you at this time?_"

"No thanks," Miley said. As Miley replaced the handset on the phone, she started to say something when Lilly jumped onto the bed, tackling her. As Lilly held Miley down, she began untying the knots on the shoulder straps of Miley's bikini. "You," Lilly said, "are my hero." She reached underneath Miley and untied the last knot of Miley's top. "How long do we have before they get here with the food?"

Miley pulled Lilly's head down for a steamy kiss, then she untied Lilly's bikini top in return. "I'd guess fifteen minutes or so," Miley said as she began breathing more heavily.

"That's too soon," Lilly said as she went to work on Miley's bottoms, quickly removing them as well. "But I guess we have all night to finish what we start, huh?"

Miley shivered as she felt Lilly's fingers brush against her, but she managed to say, "Lil, we have the rest of lives," then she could only gasp with pleasure at Lilly's loving touch.

After several very enjoyable minutes, their dinner arrived. They had reached a good stopping point, and once they had settled down they fairly demolished the dinner. Lilly was in rare form, taking care of her salad, potatoes, squash and steak, as well as two glasses of water.

"You know, they _do_ have more food where that came from," Miley said, giving Lilly a look of disbelief. "In case you want some more or something."

Lilly sighed contentedly. "Nah, I'm good, but thanks." She waited for Miley to finish her juice, then she wheeled the cart outside the room, leaving it beside the door. As she came back into the room, she used the bathroom and then brushed her teeth. As she was doing so, Miley slipped by her and went to the bathroom herself, washing off when she was done. When Miley stepped out, Lilly already had her toothbrush ready for her.

"Here you go, hon," Lilly said, handing Miley the toothbrush. She stepped into the bathroom and washed her body with a washcloth to remove any sweat from their vigorous activities earlier. Lilly smiled as she patted her skin dry with a clean towel, then she opened the bathroom door only to find that Miley had already turned off the lights and was waiting for her in the bed. Lilly smiled and made her way over to the bed, where Miley turned down the covers for her wife. Lilly slid into bed, thrilling at the coolness of the sheets as well as the warmth of Miley's skin. "Remember to say your prayers," Lilly softly said to Miley as they wrapped their legs and arms around each other.

"I will," Miley said. Some time ago Miley had made a promise to be thankful for every day she had with Lilly, and she had held to that promise. Lilly had made a similar promise to always appreciate each day they had together, and both girls had found that saying their prayers together made them feel even more thankful for all God had given them. Since they both had grown up saying their prayers at night, they soon got into a rhythm of saying their prayers at bedtime, each girl saying her own silent prayer before they fell asleep together. Tonight they both had many things to be thankful for, but at the heart of each prayer was a common idea: _Thank you for helping me find the other half of my soul_.

As the alarm clock went off, Miley and Lilly both reached to slap the snooze button and turn it off. Lilly guessed correctly and was rewarded with the clock going into snooze mode. Miley guessed the wrong side and slapped the wall. "Ow!" she said, sitting up and shaking her hand.

Lilly sat up quickly, taking her hand and examining it. She gave Miley a knowing look. "Hit the wall again?" she asked, trying not to laugh.

"Yes," Miley hissed. Lilly gently kissed her knuckles, taking her mind off her fingers that were smarting. "That feels nice," she said to Lilly.

"What _am_ I going to do with you, Mrs. Truscott?" Lilly said playfully. "You work such magic with those hands! You can't be going and getting them hurt."

Miley smiled. "Force of habit. I'm _so_ used to hitting that thing on school mornings."

Lilly ran her finger across Miley's pink lips, getting her to part them slightly. "Guess what?" Lilly said, her eyes bright.

"What?"

"You never have to wake up without me again."

The simple truth of that statement and the honest love behind it surged directly into Miley's heart, triggering an instant emotional response of both elation and relief. Miley immediately started crying as she wrapped her arms around Lilly, startling her new wife.

"Miley?" Lilly said, now worried. "Miles, talk to me! What's wrong?" She debated trying to pull away and get a grip on Miley's shoulders, but the strength with which Miley held to her told Lilly that right now it was more important to just hold Miley for now and wait until she could talk. Lilly wrapped her own arms around Miley and gently lowered them to the bed. "Shhhhh, it's okay, Miles. Everything's okay," she said softly as she rubbed Miley's warm back. "Just talk to me when you're able to, okay?"

Miley sniffed a few times, then she said, "I've w-wanted this for so long, Lilly. And now that it's here, it's just..."

While it would be easy to take Miley's unfinished statement to mean she was having doubts, Lilly understood Miley on a deep, instinctive level, and she knew that Miley's words meant nothing of the sort. She just had to wait for Miley to tell her what she did mean by them.

Finally, after a few minutes of soft sobs, silent tears (from Lilly as well), and gentle touches to comfort each other, Miley thought she could speak. "I'm so sorry if I scared you," she said first, knowing from Lilly's smile in return that she was already forgiven. "We've just wanted this for so long, and we've done everything we had to so we could be together from now on, and now--," she said with a smile as she pulled a corner of the sheet up to wipe tears from her eyes, then she did the same for Lilly. "And now, I get to wake up every morning with an angel on my pillow beside me," Miley said, her lips quivering in a smile until Lilly quickly kissed her partner. Lilly then gently rolled Miley backward until she was lying on her back, looking at the ceiling. "I think my emotions are frazzled," Miley said, blowing out a sigh of irritation as Lilly gently ran a hand through her thick chestnut hair.

"Ya think?" Lilly said softly, adding just the hint of a southern accent to her voice. "I bet a nice warm shower will help unfrazzle them." Lilly sat up and took Miley's hands. "Up, girl!" she said, tugging Miley into a sitting position. "Remember, we have that interview on _Regis and Kelly_ this morning from the Magic Kingdom."

Miley swung her legs off the bed and stood, stretching slowly. She saw Lilly look at her with a combination of adoration and desire that made Miley feel incredibly sexy and incredibly loved. "See something you like, Truscott?" she said as she lowered her arms back to her sides and walked to the bathroom.

"Lots of things I like," Lilly answered with some sass in her voice. "And I'm still seeing 'em," she added as she watched Miley's butt while she walked. "You know, I seem to remember stretching like that for you the morning after our first time."

Miley glanced over her shoulder and gave Lilly a smile. "Really?" she said, her voice a tone lower than normal as she smiled and batted her eyelashes. "We should probably conserve water," she said as she turned around to face Lilly.

Lilly didn't bother to look at the clock to check the time. She kept walking until she was right in front of Miley, making her wife lean just slightly back over the bathroom counter. "I think that's a wonderful idea," Lilly said with her sultry voice, leaning in like she was going to kiss Miley but then abruptly turning and hurrying into the shower, giggling all the way.

"You are so bad!" Miley said as she hurried into the shower behind Lilly. "Hey Lilly?" Miley asked as she stepped behind Lilly.

"Yeah hon?" Lilly asked as she wet her hair.

"I do remember you stretching like that for me, the morning after we made love for the first time," Miley said as she reached around Lilly and grabbed the shampoo, stealing a hug along the way.

"Mmmm, I thought you did," Lilly said, enjoying the sensation of Miley's wet skin sliding against her own.

"In fact," Miley said as she began shampooing Lilly's hair, "I remember every little detail about that morning."

Lilly bent her head down and turned toward Miley so she could wash the rest of her hair. "Do you remember teasing me on the phone while we were talking to your dad?" Lilly asked.

Miley tried not to laugh, but she let a giggle slip. "Yeah, I remember. You were about ready to pounce on me before we could hang up the phone!"

Lilly turned and placed her head under the stream of water, with Miley helping her rinse the shampoo out of her hair. Once that was done, Miley immediately squirted the conditioner directly on Lilly's head, then she began working it in. "That feels soooo good when you wash my head, sweetheart," Lilly said, pleasure evident in her voice.

"I'm glad you like it so much," Miley truthfully said. She did enjoy making Lilly feel good, and she had grown to love their morning ritual of showering together. As Lilly began to rinse the conditioner from her hair, Miley hugged her from behind, turning her head to escape most of the water's spray. "We get to do it every morning from now on."

Lilly turned and opened her eyes, the blue in them a brilliant sapphire hue now. She grinned and gently pushed Miley against the rear of the shower, getting a gasp from her lover as she encountered the cold tile. "Just like we get to do this every morning from now on," Lilly said as she kissed Miley.

"Amen to that," Miley said as she lowered her hands until she had a steady grip on Lilly's butt, then she pulled her wife close as they continued to kiss.

By eight o'clock, Miley and Lilly were ready and waiting at the monorail terminal. For Hannah today, Miley was wearing a bright pink shirt under a floral print halter top, with khaki shorts and tennis shoes. Lilly had chosen Lola's soft blue wig, pairing it with a white Hannah Montana concert shirt and bright green short skirt, with her own hot pink sneakers and several assorted bracelets of varying colors to round out the outfit. As they stood at the terminal by themselves, both wondered how long the relative peace would last. That question was soon answered as a group of parents flanked by several children of various ages reached the platform where Miley and Lilly were standing. As the piercing squeals from several little girls rang out, Miley and Lilly turned to each other and grinned.

"HANNAH MONTANA! LOLA LUFTNAGLE!" several high-pitched voices screamed in unison as they descended on Miley and Lilly like a swarm of bees on two brightly colored flowers. Lilly knelt down to the ground and greeted the girls with hugs as Miley smiled and bent over to offer her own hugs. Once all the girls and one of the boys had gotten hugs, Miley and Lilly began signing autographs. As a train approached the station, Miley and Lilly helped the parents gather the children back from the edge of the platform, pausing the autograph signing for a moment. Once the monorail had stopped and the doors opened, the small crowd hurried onto the train, where the remaining autographs were handed out.

As the girls were looking at their autographs, one of the mothers said, "You two are so sweet! My daughter just adores both of you."

"Thank you!" said Miley and Lilly at the same time. Lilly added, "Your kids seem very well-behaved."

One little girl said, "Hey, why did you sign your name Lola Montana? I thought it was Lola Luftnagle! That's what it always says on TV when I watch _Heroes_."

"Kathleen! You're not supposed to watch Heroes! It's too scary for you!" said a woman Lilly took to be the girl's mother.

"It's not scary!" the little girl countered. "It's cool! 'Specially when Lola uses her powers!"

Miley smiled and put her arm around Lilly, holding her snugly as she said, "I think it's cool too, but you shouldn't be watching it if your mommy tells you not to. You might have scary dreams."

Lilly nodded, then she remembered Kathleen's question. "Kathleen, my name changed yesterday," she said to the little girl, smiling proudly. "I got married."

Kathleen looked up at Lilly, wide-eyed. Lilly guessed she was probably around five or six at the oldest. Kathleen asked, "Who did you get married to, Lola?" She looked like she was about to cry.

Lilly knelt down and said, "I got married to someone who loves me very much, someone I love more than anything."

"Are you going to leave Hannah?" Kathleen said, tears now rolling down her adorable cheeks.

"What?" Lilly asked, surprised. "No, sweetie, I would never leave Hannah! I love her."

"But when a girl gets married she marries a boy and goes to live with him," Kathleen countered, her mouth curling downward in a frown.

Lilly smiled warmly and moved some blonde bangs out of the little girl's eyes. "Most of the time you're right," Lilly said, "but sometimes two girls or two boys might be such good friends and love each other so much that they can't be apart. And in those cases, sometimes they get married, like Hannah and I did yesterday."

Kathleen looked up, her expression a guarded neutral. "So you and Hannah are still friends?"

Lilly nodded. "Best friends."

"And you get to stay together?"

Lilly nodded again. "Always," she said, reaching back and up for Miley to take her hand and squeeze it. "I promise," she added. "That's why we married each other, Kathleen. So we get to be together forever."

Kathleen pondered this new information. "Well... I guess it's okay that you got married, then," she said seriously. "Is that why you changed your last name to Hannah's last name?"

Lilly grinned. "You're pretty smart!" she said, impressed with the little girl's deductive ability. "Yes, that's why I changed my last name to Montana. Sometimes a woman will do that when she gets married." Kathleen seemed satisfied with Lilly's answers, so Lilly held her arms open for a hug. Silently she was dreading a negative reaction from the girl's parents, but no objection or complaint was offered. As Kathleen stepped forward and hugged Lilly, Miley released Lilly's hand so she could hug the little girl tightly.

As Kathleen stepped back from Lilly, another girl, this one maybe ten or eleven, stepped forward and put her arm around Kathleen. "Kath, Hannah sang all those love songs on her last album for Lola, remember?"

"Oh yeah," said Kathleen. The barest hint of a smile was starting to show on her face, which pleased Lilly immensely.

Through the entire conversation, Miley also tried to assess the reactions of the parents listening to the conversation. Remarkably, no one seemed to be angry or upset as Lilly talked with the children. _She has such a way with kids. That's one of her gifts_. _She's going to be an amazing mother to our children._ Miley smiled as Lilly hugged Kathleen tightly, then she passed the girl over to Miley to hug, laughing at catching Miley off guard. Miley quickly recovered and gave the girl a firm hug, then she set her back down on the floor of the tram. She looked at the parents and said, "Ya'll stayin' at the Grand Floridian?" Getting nods in response, she leaned over and said, "When you get back to the hotel, go to the front desk and tell the concierge that you saw us today, and that I said to get your names so we can send everyone some stuff when we get back home, okay?" The children cheered at that, with several of them clapping.

The monorail slowed as it began its approach into the Magic Kingdom. As it came to a stop, Miley and Lilly let the kids get closest to the door. Once the doors opened, the parents efficiently shooed the children out of the monorail car, with Miley and Lilly following them. As the fathers and one of the mothers arranged their children, two of the mothers looked at Miley and Lilly. "Thank you," the first one said, with the second adding, "And congratulations." The first mother smiled as she said, "It's so nice to have good role models for our children today. You two are always well-behaved, polite, kind and encouraging to our girls and boys."

"Thank you!" Miley said, with Lilly wiping a tear before she also said, "Thanks." Miley said to the children, "Maybe we'll see you around here today," expecting maybe a few cheers, but instead she and Lilly were swarmed again by the children, all of them hugging the girls as best as their little arms could. The two of them made sure to hug all the children before they were released. "Bye," said Lilly, waving as she and Miley began walking toward the exit. "Always remember to keep love in your hearts!" she said, taking Miley's hand as she said it, then she turned around so she could see where she was going.

"They were sweet kids!" Miley said.

"Yeah, they were adorable!" Lilly replied, still smiling at their interaction with them. "And it didn't feel like their parents were weirded out by us or anything."

"Yeah, I agree," Miley said. "I was watching them, and they didn't seem upset at all." She looked toward the entrance to the park, where several protesters stood watch, displaying signs with charming slogans such as **Homo Sex Is A Crime**, **God Hates Lesbians**, **Pray For Your Soul!**, and **Hannah Montana Burn In Hell**. Miley shuddered as she said, "Sure wish we could say that for everybody."

Lilly took Miley's hand, tugging Miley along when she involuntarily began to slow her stride. "We keep walking, Hannah, that's all we have to do. Whatever they say, we smile, hold hands, and _keep walking_."

Lilly's tone of voice indicated that there was no room for argument, which comforted Miley. When Lilly's mind was firmly set, nothing was going to knock it off course. Miley put her head down as they approached the protesters; thankfully, they hadn't been spotted yet. _Maybe we can get through the picket line without being spotted_. It was a hopeless thought, but it gave Miley something to focus on as she started to get queasy. _This is silly! Why am I so worried about what these obnoxious people think? I've had critics before, and they've never affected me like this._ But then Miley realized what had changed. _Lilly. I'm worried about what they're going to say to Lilly. What hurtful things they'll try to do to her._ They had faced criticism before. They had already been yelled at, been called lesbos, dykes, temptresses, and a host of other equally hate-dipped names. But this... This was their honeymoon, for heaven's sake. Shouldn't they be allowed at least three days where they didn't have to deal with the vocal minority who were ready to cast them into the depths of Hell just because they loved each other?

Thankfully, most people had already realized that their love was something beautiful, something just as precious as it would be in any boy-girl couple. The protesters, the hate mail, the angry shouts, the ugly names, they were diminishing over the last year. There were never really that many detractors to their relationship, and their numbers dwindled by the week. Miley was so caught up in her line of thinking, her attempt to distract herself from what they faced in the next hundred yards, that she hadn't realized the two of them had stopped walking until she heard Lilly's voice.

"Earth to Hannah," Lilly said with a smile. Her blue eyes twinkled with love as Miley looked deeply into them. This close, with the sun shining just right, Miley could see the little flecks of gold in Lilly's eyes. _That's how I know you're really an angel, sent to be with me,_ she had told Lilly the first morning they woke as lovers, as she examined the hints of gold in Lilly's eyes. And Lilly had smiled, ran her fingers through Miley's unruly head of hair, and replied, _Funny, that's how I've always known you were an angel too_.

"Just thinkin'," Miley said. She sighed, then said, "It'd be really nice if we got some time during our honeymoon where we didn't have to deal with people who hate us."

Lilly smiled and gently ran her fingers down Miley's left cheek. "Yes, it would. But that's not how it is." When Miley lowered her gaze again, Lilly shifted her fingers and caught Miley's chin, tipping it back up so they were looking in each other's eyes. "Hey," she said. "We hold our heads up when we walk past them."

And just like that, Miley felt resolve surge back into her. _I have Lilly, and that's all I need. I'm not ashamed of her. I don't regret loving her. And we should never have to hide our relationship. No one should._ She smiled as she looked at Lilly. "You always know just what to say to me."

Lilly's eyes twinkled again as she wrinkled her forehead with a huge grin. "That's because I love you," she said as she leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. "And sometimes we all need a pep talk."

Miley took both of Lilly's hands in hers. Now they were starting to draw a crowd, as enough people were starting to recognize them despite the rush to get into the park. But for now, only one other person had Miley's attention, and she squeezed that particular woman's hands and said with a smile, "I'm ready, as long as I have you with me."

As they turned and began walking toward the protesters at the park entrance, Lilly said, "Sweetheart, I'm always with you, and I always will be." She tightly held Miley's left hand, willing all the love she could through that physical contact as some of the protesters spotted them and began yelling, waving their signs and pointing until all the protesters had joined in the frenzy of shouting. But the two young women ignored the catcalls, the insults, the tirades, the profanity, the threats directed at two girls whose only crime had been to fall in love with each other. They held their heads up high and smiled as they walked with the crowd past the picket line. And they were not ashamed.

As they reached the park gates, they went through the lines like everyone else. For mornings like these, they had been given a second set of keycards, two cards that had been made with Hannah's and Lola's names and pictures linked to them. As soon as they had passed through the gates, though, they were directed to the side where two park employees sat, obviously waiting on them. As Miley and Lilly approached the two young men, both of them stood. They were next to a cart that had been designed to look like an automobile from the twenties or thirties, painted a glossy red. "Mrs. Montana and Mrs. Montana?" one of them said.

"Yes?" Miley replied, stopping just short of them. Lilly stood next to Miley, her arm wrapping around Miley as they stood.

"We've been asked to take you to where the show is shooting today, ma'am...s," he said, awkwardly pluralizing the last word, which got giggles out of both Miley and Lilly.

"Sounds good to me!" Lilly said as she stepped up onto the rear section of the car, reaching down and helping Miley up before they both sat, hips and torsos touching as they held each other. "Even with that monorail thingy, there's a lot of walking here!"

Miley tried not to laugh at Lilly's statement, but she came up a bit short. "Lola, I think there's gonna be a lot of walking today!"

"All the more reason for us to ride when we can," Lilly countered, not missing a beat. As the car eased into motion, Lilly leaned over and gently rested her head against Miley's. "I'm so glad I get to share this with you," she said as the car zipped through the tunnel beneath the train tracks encircling this part of the Magic Kingdom and moved as quickly as it safely could through the early crowds. "What are we going to see today, once the interview is over?"

Miley thought about that. "Well, you can't come to Disney World and not ride Space Mountain," she said. "Plus I want to see the Finding Nemo ride."

"Ooooh, and the Haunted Mansion!" Lilly said with glee. "We have to see that!" She knew that Miley didn't enjoy scary stuff that much, just like she knew that such a ride would be guaranteed to put Miley in her lap for most of the ride. "Maybe twice."

Miley leaned over and said, not too softly, "There are easier ways to get me in your lap, sweetheart, and with less risk of me peeing on myself."

"Pirates of the Caribbean?" Lilly offered.

Miley nodded. "That works," she said happily. "After all, how scary could that be?"

Lilly grinned. "I guess we'll find out." She stopped talking as the cart slowed and then came to a halt. Miley hopped down first, then she turned and helped Lilly down, not releasing her hand until her wife was safely on the ground. As they shaded their eyes and looked around, they could see equipment set up in what appeared to be a haphazard manner, but before they looked around too much, a woman who appeared to be in her early or mid-thirties approached them.

"Mrs. Montana?" she asked, hesitantly. Miley and Lilly both fought not to laugh as they watched the woman try to decide on the correct form of address for the two of them.

Miley decided to let her off the hook. "You can call us Mrs. Montana and Mrs. Montana, or maybe the Mrs. Montana... but we're fine with Hannah and Lola, too."

"Thanks," she said as she extended her hand and firmly shook each girl's hand in turn. "I'm Kathy. Please follow me, and we'll get you two ready." She turned and led them through a small maze of cables taped to the ground, stacks of equipment, tables covered with everything from food to a disassembled camera, and finally to the makeup area. Miley and Lilly each sat in a chair, not needing any direction here. Each of them had a makeup artist, and they both closed their eyes as the light makeup was applied in an attempt to diffuse the harsh light of the sun that was beating down on central Florida today. After a few minutes, the two of them were ready. As they stood, Kathy smiled and led them along another path through the makeshift maze. As they reached the inner perimeter of the broadcast area, Miley and Lilly could see Regis Philben and Kelly Ripa, seated on tall chairs in the center of a minimalist set, chatting as casually as if they were in someone's breakfast area instead of being broadcast live to the nation in the middle of Disney's Magic Kingdom.

As Kathy discreetly waved, catching the hosts' attention, Kelly turned to see Miley and Lilly and eagerly said, "Oh look, Reege! Here they are now." She motioned for Miley and Lilly to step forward and take their places in the two tall chairs placed between and behind the hosts.

As she did so, Regis began his introduction, his voice's volume slowly building as he went on. "One of our two special guests today has sold over _fifty million_ copies of her first four CDs on the way to winning two Grammys earlier this year, while the other is a rising young actress who is expected to be nominated for an Emmy this year for her work on NBC's _Heroes_. They were married yesterday on live TV in a ceremony held here in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom that we're told had more viewers than the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. They have become the public face for same-sex marriage and gay and lesbian rights. And did we mention they're both only _seventeen_?!?"

As Regis paused to catch his breath, Kelly seized the opportunity and said, "Please welcome Hannah and Lola Montana!"

As Miley and Lilly stepped forward, they continued to hold hands as they walked to the hosts. As they reached Kelly and Regis, the two hosts stood. Miley first hugged Regis while Lilly hugged Kelly, then they switched so each could hug the other host. Regis and Kelly seemed genuinely happy for them to be there, and their pleasant mood was contagious, putting Miley and Lilly in even brighter spirits than they already were. As the hosts settled back into their seats, Miley sat next to Regis with Lilly next to Kelly. Without any conscious effort, Miley's left hand and Lilly's right hand both sought and found each other, fingers interlacing as easily as blinking as the girls found comfortable spots in their seats.

"Thank you for having us here!" Lilly said, her grin brilliant in the early morning sun.

Regis smiled and said, "Well, thank _you_ for taking time from your honeymoon to spend some time with us this morning!" He looked at Miley as well and added, "You two have certainly been busy these last few months, haven't you?"

"Um, yeah, that's one way to put it," Miley said, laughing slightly as she spoke.

"Do you two go to school?" Kelly asked, leaning forward slightly.

Lilly looked at Miley and cautiously said, "We'd really prefer not to give out too many details of our private lives. We make a very strong effort to keep our privacy when we're out of the public eye." Then she smiled and said, "But yes, we are finishing high school, and we're looking at colleges now."

"How are you going to adjust to college? I mean, I guess it'd be hard for other students to focus if they're in class with either of you," Kelly asked.

"Well, I don't really think we'd be a big distraction," Miley said. "I mean, we're talking college here! Famous people go to colleges all around the world, and you never hear that much about them."

"Well, Mary-Kate and Ashley," Lilly said, giving Miley a quick look.

"Okay, Mary-Kate and Ashley, they drew some attention, but only for a few weeks," Miley countered. "Then it died down."

"Along with their grades!" Regis said abruptly, getting a few chuckles around the set. He took a drink of his coffee, then he looked at his note cards before he said, "Now, ladies, I understand there are a few things you're wanting to tell us about this morning. Some announcements you're wanting to make?"

While Lilly had become a celebrity in her own right, she still liked to let Miley take the lead in most of these situations. It wasn't just shyness or fear of saying the wrong thing, although both those were still present in a small amount, it was more that this was Miley's place. She was a natural entertainer just as Lilly was a natural athlete, and for the two of them to deny those talents would be to deny part of themselves. With this in mind, Miley smiled and spoke first. "Lola and I are very happy to announce that as of today, the Hannah and Lola Montana Foundation is open for business. The HLM Foundation is a nonprofit charity that will be focusing on several issues, including children's health, support for the arts in public schools, and of course support for gay and lesbian teenagers. These three core issues are going to be the foundation's main focus, but we will also be supporting other charities, like the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, the March of Dimes, and several other charities that we believe in very strongly." Miley paused and looked at Lilly, waiting for Lilly to add her part.

_Oh my gosh, she is so beautiful!_ Lilly found it hard to focus due to how captivating Miley was right at that moment. _Her face, her voice, her enthusiasm, her kindness... How did I get so lucky?_ As Miley squeezed her hand once she was finished speaking, Lilly realized she had to collect her thoughts long enough to speak coherently. She smiled and squeezed Miley's hand in return, then cleared her throat as she said, "Sorry, I got lost in just how amazing you really are, hon." That comment made Miley blush slightly and got a chuckle from Regis and Kelly. Lilly turned to Kelly and said, "For the first activity of the HLM Foundation, we've spent the last two months planning a big one to kick things off. We've been working with Ronald McDonald House, Make-A-Wish, Life Span, which works with victims of dating assault and violence, several Boys' and Girls' Clubs, and a heck of a lot of teen counseling and support organizations to arrange for transportation, room and board, and admission for right around ten thousand children, teenagers, and their parents to come down here over the next few days. These families come from around the country, with at least one family from every state including D.C. and Puerto Rico. Our goal for all these families is the same: to tell them that they're loved and to help them heal both physically and emotionally. For some of them, they've fought crippling illness. Others have been the victims of rape or assault. Some are families learning to deal with straight parents raising gay children or gay parents raising straight children. And still others are innocent victims of poverty or homelessness. But what all of them have in common is that inside, they're all exactly like us. They want to be loved, they want to be healthy, they want to be safe. They want to be allowed to grow up and experience their own life, with all the opportunities that life can offer us. And we want to help them do just that."

Even before Lilly finished, the applause was starting. When she stopped speaking, the applause surged in volume, becoming a thunderous ovation not just from the show's crew, but from all the Magic Kingdom guests watching and listening to the show's broadcast. After nearly a minute of applause, Kelly raised her voice enough to be heard over the dwindling cheers and said, "How have the two of you handled becoming the face of same-sex couples in America today?"

Miley laughed as Lilly snickered as well. "Well," Miley said, "we never really set out to become anything like that. We just fell in love and wanted to be together. And from that, we wanted to be honest. Honest with each other, of course, but also honest with our fans. Honest to the millions of girls—and some boys—who look up to us as role models. Being a celebrity carries with it being a role model, and we accepted that a long time ago. Why should we hide a very big part of ourselves from our fans? Some of those fans may already be having some questions about their sexuality. Many more of them will have the same questions eventually. They need to see that falling in love isn't wrong. Lola and I never made a conscious choice to fall in love; it just happened." Miley moved her other arm over and began lightly running her fingertips up and down Lilly's forearm as she held her hand. "Our love grew out of our friendship, and for us, it was the most natural thing in the world."

Lilly added, "That was something that my mom pointed out to us after we had told our parents that we were in love with each other. She said that it was a bit weird seeing us kiss at first, but the more she watched us together the more she saw that we were only doing what felt natural to us." She looked at Miley and smiled. "When I wake up every morning, the first thing I feel is how loved I am, because I have this amazing woman's arms around me. I couldn't imagine not having her with me."

Miley gazed at her partner for a few more seconds, then she turned back to Kelly and said, "So getting back to your question, while we didn't set out to become the spokewomen for gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers, we realize that we do fill that role, and we're proud to accept it. I hope that by watching us, people across the country and around the world will get a better understanding of how love really is love, whether it's between a man and a woman or two women or two men. Honest, true love is something precious, and it should always be recognized and respected for that."

Regis looked at the two of them as they grinned at each other. Lilly lifted Miley's hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles as Regis said with his friendly blustering voice, "How did you two grow up so fast?!"

Miley turned to look at the older man and said, "Love does funny things." She smiled at Lilly and realized that if they had to live their lives in the spotlight, somehow they could survive. But it was really nice that they didn't have to do this all the time, that sometimes they could just be themselves. "For us, love made us stronger than we were separately. All we had to do was stop fighting what our hearts were telling us and accept our feelings for each other."

Lilly was thinking much the same thing as Miley. She spoke up, saying, "Where we've really been blessed is that our friends and families understood and accepted how we felt about each other. Not everyone is so lucky, though, and every day there are teenagers struggling with their feelings all around the world. When we're confused, what we need more than anything is for someone to just _listen_ to us, someone we can talk to about what we're feeling inside. Don't yell at us, don't judge us, don't tell us we're going to Hell. Just listen to us... and remember that if you really care, then you'll accept us for who we are."

Miley led the applause this time, as she loved to do when Lilly made a statement like her most recent one. She had watched Lilly grow over the years, from a girl into a teenager into a young woman and now, into a star in her own right. Miley sat back and tried to imagine giving up her own career and instead just being Lilly's wife, focusing on raising on their children. She was shocked at how it easy it was to visualize. But it wasn't time for that just yet. Hannah and Lola still had quite some time in the spotlight together.

A gentle squeeze of her hand brought Miley back to the present. "Hannah?" Lilly said, softly. "You want to give them our other news?" Miley shook her head, hoping Lilly would guess her intention, then she realized Lilly didn't have to guess. She already knew what Miley was needing, and she turned back to Regis and Kelly and said, "I think Hannah's a bit overwhelmed still, so I'll go ahead and mention our other piece of news. Lately there's been some complaints that our faces are popping up everywhere, from clothes to dolls to decks of cards to toothbrushes to hair spray and so on and so on." Lilly took a deep breath before she continued. "Well, those people complaining are right. There's entirely too much stuff out there with our faces and names on it. Some of it is appropriate, but some of it is just silly. That's why Hannah and I are happy to announce that as of four days ago, we have acquired all the rights to our names and likenesses. From now on, all licensing of us and our names will be controlled directly by the two of us. This should cut down on the number of products out there with Hannah Montana or Lola Montana on it." Lilly paused, hoping Miley would step in any time.

True to form, Miley spoke right up as soon as Lilly paused. "We're hearing the complaints about our faces being on everything but toilet paper, and those complaints have a good point. Yes, we've made lots of money off royalties on these products, but we'd rather give some of that up and preserve our image. Now we can do that. By controlling our own licensing, we're going to cut out the really silly things with our names on them and instead focus on things that make sense or that are dear to our hearts. Clothes, purses, dolls, posters, those kinds of things will stay. Shampoo, toothbrushes, bottled water, temporary tattooes, those things will be gone."

Lilly looked at Miley and gave her a questioning gaze, causing Miley to pause. "I like the toothbrushes," Lilly said in a loud whisper. "I think they're cute."

Miley smiled at her partner and said, "Okay, the toothbrushes can stay," getting a happy little squeal and clap from Lilly. "But we're redoing the dolls so they have faces that look at least halfway like us."

"No argument there," Lilly muttered. She had been just as irritated about the dolls that looked nothing like them.

Miley looked back into the camera and continued. "While controlling the licensing rights will ensure that we continue to make money off these products, Lola and I think it's more important to protect the integrity of our names and likenesses. Let's face it, all these Hannah and Lola products are really just too much. We need to get rid of the silly ones and preserve the ones that are important to us in order to protect the integrity of who we are and what we stand for."

Miley turned to look into Lilly's deep blue eyes, as she acutely felt their gaze on her cheek. Before she could say anything, Lilly leaned forward and quickly kissed her on the lips, not lingering more than two or three seconds. "I love you so much," Lilly said with a smile as they pulled their faces apart slightly.

"I love you too, sweetheart," Miley said. "I'm so thankful we found each other."

Lilly grinned, her eyes twinkling despite the glare of the sun down upon them. "We were always meant to find each other. We just had to stop fighting what our hearts were telling us and accept it." She lifted Miley's hand and turned it over, taking a good look at Miley's engagement ring and wedding band before continuing. "Kelly, Reege, thanks for having us on here today. We hope that what we have to say will give just one confused girl or boy out there the courage to follow her or his heart..."

"..And one set of parents the courage and faith in their child to let that child follow those feelings without condemning or abandoning them," Miley finished. "If we've done that today, if we're able to continue helping children and teenagers through hard or painful times, then we can feel like we've accomplished something worthwhile."

For the third time during the interview, applause and cheering made the show come to a halt. This time it was hard for Miley and Lilly to not blush underneath the television makeup, but they did their best. Kelly and Regis both stood, triggering Miley and Lilly to do the same. Once all of them were on their feet, Kelly and Regis stopped clapping long enough to hug Miley and Lilly and wish them both the best of luck in their careers and lives together. Miley and Lilly thanked them and then waved to the crew and the crowds that were also cheering before stepping off the broadcast set, hands still held throughout the entire show. As they made it back to the staging area, the cheers continued loudly, prompting Regis to declare that the show would go to commercial and then be back with their next guest, Dr. Laura Berman, a psychologist and expert on sexuality from Northwestern University.

The rest of the day seemed to race by for Miley and Lilly. They spent the rest of the morning in the Magic Kingdom, where they made sure to ride Space Mountain, the Peter Pan ride, Pirates of the Caribbean and the new Finding Nemo ride. Disney officials had been kind enough to give the girls VIP access, allowing them to use the FastPass lines for the rides, greatly cutting down their wait times. However, even when standing in line, the girls had a great time speaking with kids and families also waiting for the rides.

When it was time for lunch, Miley took Lilly to the restaurant at Cinderella's Castle, prompting cheers from the kids already in the restaurant when Hannah and Lola stepped onto the restaurant floor on the second floor of the castle. Even with the fairly steady visits to their tables from excited girls and boys and their families, Miley and Lilly found it relaxing. They had grown accustomed to the attention of fans, and these fans and their families were almost all well behaved. Seeing the smile that just an autograph or a hug could put on the face of a small child made both Miley and Lilly light up themselves, like it always had.

Following lunch, they made their way to Animal Kingdom. Lilly got her way (as usual) and she and Miley rode the Jurassic Park ride, which guaranteed that Miley would be in Lilly's arms and lap most of the ride. The picture from the ride captured a rather impressive scream of Miley's as one of the dinosaurs on the ride lunged at them, much to Lilly's delight. "We'll take three of these, please," Lilly happily told the clerk at the store after the ride.

"Why, so you can embarrass me three times as much?" Miley grumbled.

Lilly paused and turned to look at Miley. "I just thought it was cute, how you were screaming. Look at how you had your arms wrapped around me! It's so adorable!"

"I was scared, Lilly," Miley said, a touch of a whine in her voice.

Lilly took note of the hint of true discomfort in Miley's voice, making her rethink her purchase. As the clerk handed her the bag containing her prints, Lilly didn't bother to look at the photos. She simply put them in their large carry bag and said, "Okay, let's shred them when we get back to the Grand Floridian." She made sure to smile so that Miley would realize she was being sincere and not teasing her.

"Really?" Miley asked. She knew that Lilly loved her, but she also knew that Lilly really did like that picture.

Lilly nodded as she took Miley's hand. "Really," she confirmed. "The picture was cute, but I'm not even going to look at it if it upsets you for real. It's not worth making you uncomfortable, hon."

Miley leaned against Lilly and silently thanked God for about the thirty-seventh time that day for bringing the two of them together. Then she kissed her wife on the cheek and said, "Thanks, Lola," her brilliant smile now once again on display for everyone to see.

For dinner that night, the two chose to eat at Narcoosee's, a restaurant inside the Grand Floridian itself. While there were still some fans who came over to speak to the two of them, it was a more subdued dinner overall. The dim lighting inside the restaurant, coupled with the growing dusk outside, gave the setting a sense of intimacy that Miley and Lilly appreciated.

Following their peaceful dinner, they strolled back to their bungalow, holding hands as the breeze blew and a few drops of rain began to fall. They laughed at the impending storm, until a bolt of lightning overhead made both of them jump. The peal of thunder almost immediately afterward put a new urgency in their step, and they hurried to their bungalow, just barely beating the opening salvo of rain. As they looked around to make sure no one was watching them, they hurried up to their room, unlocking the door and going in quickly. As soon as they were inside, Lilly said, "Okay, potty break," as she hurried to the bathroom.

Miley patted her partner's butt as she hurried past, then Miley made her way into the main room of the suite, sitting on the bed as she took off her shoes. She had changed out of her boots while they were still at the Magic Kingdom, thanks to Lilly's suggestion to do so. _Nice call, girlfriend. You saved me some serious blisters today._ Miley stood and began slipping off her shirt, smiling as she felt two strong hands begin to help her. "All finished and clean?" she asked Lilly.

"Yep. And ready for you to get cleaned up, too."

As Miley tossed the shirt into the corner where they had placed the dirty clothes bag, Lilly's fingers unsnapped the catch on Miley's shorts and began working them down her long legs. "Mmmm, I'm looking forward to tonight," Miley said. Though they hadn't said a word about it, Miley knew that tonight would be Hannah and Lola's honeymoon, just like last night had been hers and Lilly's. She turned and was surprised when she saw that Lilly was wearing Lola's powder blue wig and nothing else. She smiled as Lilly rubbed herself up against Miley's nearly nude body, just her bra and panties between them.

"Go wash up," Lilly said with a smile. "I'm not going anywhere."

Miley smiled and replied, "I know," kissing her wife warmly. She turned and went into the bathroom, snatching a washcloth and soaking it with warm water. After quickly washing her body off, Miley brushed her teeth, then turned off the light. She walked back into the suite's main room, then she crawled across the bed, sliding under the covers as Lilly turned them down. As they curled together, kissing while their hands searched out tender targets along their bodies, Miley whispered, "I love you, Lola."

Lola grinned, then gasped softly as Hannah's fingers found their goal. She swallowed, then said, "Oh Hannah, I love you, sweetheart. I love you so much." Then her own hand found its destination, triggering a jerk and moan from Hannah as well. After just a few minutes, both of them surged into their orgasms together, tightening their grips on—and in—each other as they both lapped up the sensations shooting through their bodies, minds, hearts and souls. The affection, the desire, the support, the friendship, the love, all of these passed from one to the other and then back again, stronger with each circuit.

After a short rest to catch their breath, Hannah and Lola made love again, and then again. Finally sated for the time being, they curled in each other's arms as they began to drift into sleep.

Before sleep claimed her, Miley remembered something before she fell asleep, and she whispered, "Lilly! Lilly, did you remember to check on those fertility centers?"

Lilly's eyes slowly opened, and a smile creeped across her lips. "Why, yes, I did," she said with an adorable grin. "I think that USC and UCLA are going to be the best ones to start with. They both seemed excited about working together to build a research facility using those stem cells that can be made from epi-whatsis cells."

"Epithelial."

"Epi-whatever," Lilly said with a playful wink. "And when I talked about building it into a fertility center over the next ten years, I thought they were going to faint, they were so excited."

Miley paused, then she said, "Did you already set things up?"

"Yeah, we deliver the first grant check when we get back later this week. I figure a total of fifteen or twenty million will be a good start for them. Plus we've got the donations that were already promised to us from our friends."

Miley smiled, then she kissed Lilly good night. "You are amazing, and I love you with all my heart."

"I know, and thank you," Lilly said as she brushed some of Hannah's hair out of Miley's eyes. "Just like I love you." She closed her eyes and pulled Miley a bit more tightly against her. "Now go to sleep, sweetheart. We still have lots of stuff to see tomorrow, and we'll be able to do it without all the crowds following us around."

Miley did as Lilly said, closing her eyes and immediately feeling herself drift off, swept away by the warmth and security of being in Lilly's arms. The fertility research center and clinic was going to happen sooner rather than later, much to their delight. Before slumber claimed her, Miley had one last thought: _Sometimes you just have to nudge the future in the right direction._

_As I am is how you take me_

_Never try to push or make me different_

_When I talk you listen to me_

_As I am is how you want me, and_

_I know I've found the piece that's missing_

_I'm looking at her_

END

**Author's Afterword:** I would like to point out that Dr. Laura Berman is quite real, and she has been a very strong proponent of acceptance and recognition of homosexuality as not simply a choice, but instead as part of who some of us truly are. We all have certain qualities that we're attracted to whether we like it or not, and for some of us that extends to being attracted to both genders or to our own gender. Dr. Berman has worked to educate society that these feelings are as natural to some of us as breathing, and that the love between two women or two men can be every bit as real and wonderful as the love between a man and a woman for others. Dr. Berman, lots of us out there deeply appreciate you and are happy that people like you are working to change society's perception of how we see sexuality. While there are some out there who consciously choose to experiment with homosexuality, for the vast majority of us, it's not a choice. It's simply part of who we are. And love really does conquer all. Dr. Berman's website is easy to find and is a great resource for anyone looking for information on a host of sexuality-related topics.

Wow, so now we're at the end of another story in Miley's and Lilly's lives together. I hope everyone enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed telling it! As I noted in the Foreword, the next story is going to be a combination senior trip/high school graduation story. I still haven't decided exactly where to take the seniors for their trip, but the most likely destinations are going to be Washington, D.C. (the classic senior trip, justified by seniors taking U.S. Government) and a ski resort (a great suggestion and easy to do in Northern California but a bit harder to get the school board to approve). I promise that we'll see several of our other characters that we've all come to know and love, along with some new ones that you have yet to meet. Hope to see you back soon!

-- Jo --


End file.
